Before Night Falls
by Muted Trumpet
Summary: FINAL CHAPTER! ""Come and see!" he says and that was the end of it, she had changed her mind," Chapter 24, Finally completed. Please, for the last time, review!
1. Chapter 1

**Do not own**

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All men of action are dreamers

-John Huneker

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Tonight is the night.

Puck stares into the wide skies under the glass roof of his attic. Tonight is the night when Quinn brings Beth over to spend the weekend with him. A smile lights up his face at the mere thought of it. He hasn't seen her in months because he was away cleaning as many pools as he could so he could save up enough to buy Beth a piano, something Beth had always wanted and something that she had just started learning.

Sometimes Puck wishes life was kinder to him. Once upon a time, he was the popular guy who threw kids into dumpsters and always got the girl he wanted until the girl he wanted happened to be his best friend's girl. And then things got complicated and she got pregnant and just because leaving his family was not the way he rolled, he had married her. Quinn Fabray, the captain of the Cheerios, the most gorgeous thing at school. The perfect mother; the not-so-perfect wife.

Puck sighs. This is something that has always bothered him. His family was a broken one, with his father an alcoholic and gambler and his mother a helpless little woman who had lost her husband to gambling, womanizing and so many more unforgivable sins. He had tried; damn did he try to be the perfect husband and father to the Quinn and Beth. How much had he wanted his marriage to work out.

But a marriage doesn't go well when you're sixteen and so is she and she is pregnant and you don't have a cent for diapers or milk or an OB and you are lost and all you two do is wonder where your next meal is going to come from. And Puck hates it, he hates that he that happened, he hates that he let Quinn work at McDonalds part-time while she was eight months pregnant, he hates that he was leaning on her for money because he couldn't make enough for her and most of all he hates that he had to lose her and his little princess because he couldn't be the perfect husband and father that he was supposed to be.

Puck sighs as he sees a wishing star fly past him as he lies on the couch, in a black tank top, sipping a coke, in his boxers, with the light off so he can get a good view of the wide night sky and the stars it never fails to show case. On a whim, he wishes for something impossible but he had given up on wishing a long time ago. He had always been a failure, in Geography, Math, Spanish, everything. Puck thinks back and is amused that he was surprised when Quinn gave him the divorce papers.

He still remembers that day, it was raining heavily and he was lying down on the bed with Beth sleeping soundly in her cot. He remembered that he was watching a re-run of some old ass Simpsons episodes when she came into their stinky motel room and passed the letters to him.

He remembered the look on her face as she averted her eyes from him and the way she told him in a voice as cold as ice that she needed to leave him and she was taking Beth with her and after that he doesn't remember anything she had said. He remembers the exact moment, 17:31, because that was when he looked up at the digital clock on the wall, and then she was gone and before he knew it, she was gone gone and she had custody over Beth and he was divorced and alone and twenty and when it was all finalized and he came back to his empty motel room wearing a red checkered shirt with his inner white tank top showing. He had realised that he had just lost everything he cared so much about.

There is a knock on his door and he springs up like a rabbit catching a whiff of carrots and he rushed to get some pants on and then he pulls the door wide open and makes sure his eyes are not sleepy and can focus on Quinn's face just so she knows that he is not a loser.

"Daddy!" Beth squeals and jumps into his arms. He cannot help but hug her as tightly as he can and almost squeezes all the air out of her lungs. He looks at Quinn and mouths a 'thank you' as he raises his baby girl up into the air and stares into those large eyes of hers. She is the spitting image of Quinn and he has no doubt that there will be hordes of boys trying to get into her pants by the time she reaches high school and he then will have to beat them off with sticks and throw them into dumpsters because no one touches his baby girl.

"Bethy dear", Quinn's voice is as soft and demure as he remembers and both father and daughter turn to face her. "Run along inside and play with your toys", she tells her and he knows that she is about to explain to him her complicated milk feeds and what time he needs to wake her up for a pee so she doesn't soil the sheets. And most importantly, he knows she is going to tell him how he is under no circumstances allowed to feed her any of the junk food he gets for himself every so often. Puck releases his daughter and catches her from her fall, pressing her into his muscular chest before letting her run off into the dark of the attic so she can go play with the toys she leaves here.

"Hey, I just wanted to say thanks for bringing her over", he tells Quinn and absently switches the lights on. "You know I really am grateful", he tells her and she smiles. He smiles back. There is a little aching in his chest as he looks into her sad eyes. It's like the divorce still upsets them both.

"Just take care of her, her milk powder is in here and here's the hot water, I know you don't boil any for yourself but please, Beth likes her milk warm. She sleeps at 9pm sharp no later", she tells him in that motherly voice and he smirks at her. "Not even if she bugs you for five minutes", Quinn attempts to break the ice, but everything is still so awkward. "Oh and remember no…"

"No fast food got it, you wanna come in? Have some coffee or something? I've got some somewhere", he turns and gestures into the attic he had begun to rent about two months ago as he leans casually against the wall.

"No I can't, I've got class, you know", and that is when he gives her a sad smile. It was because of him that she didn't go to Yale and for that he will always feel that same amount of guilt weighing on his shoulders. He looks at her as she says goodbye and starts off.

"Hey Quinn", she pauses mid-step "thanks", he tells her and then they smile at each other and that feeling comes back again, he wishes he could have her in his arms for just one more moment. He watches her nod and thank the owners of the house; an old couple and then he thinks about them. He wishes he and Quinn could have such a future together, but he knows it is impossible. Or is it?

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**A/N: Just a little fic about how Quinn and Puck interact with each other and pull through difficulties together despite their divorce. Please review.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Here's chapter two! **

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Deep experience is never peaceful

-Henry James

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The attic is quiet; quiet and dark just like it was a few hours ago. Puck glances at the clock on his nightstand and catches a glimpse of his daughter. She is wearing her Scooby Doo pajamas, curled up in a fetal position and sucking on her thumb, clutching tightly to Poofy, her stuffed mouse. It is 3 am but Puck doesn't feel sleepy at all. There is something in his blood that is keeping him awake and he knows exactly what it is.

His eyes go to the drawer beneath his clock and he swallows. This is something that he has never done in front of anyone before but he knows and is ashamed that he is about to do it in front of his own 7 year-old. With slight hesitation he walks the short distance from his sofa to where his secret stash is and with a small key, he opens the drawer.

Inside is a collection of needles, bands and heroin shots. Puck glances at his child and is embarrassed but he cannot help himself and makes his way back to the sofa with the tools he requires. He gets the band and wraps it around his arm, pulling the strap tightly with his teeth and then gently, he places the needle against his flesh and winces slightly as the it penetrates the barrier of flesh. Then slowly, and gently, he pushes the plunger.

Puck can feel the prick of the needle and it does sting a little but this is soon overcome when the pure bliss of the heroin kicks in. He feels like he is floating on air and he cannot help himself. Everything goes slightly blur but he doesn't mind it at all. This is what he loves. It is his way of escape; his drug; his everything. He knows this is wrong; that he is destroying his own body but he is not thinking about that now.

All he is doing is feeling and he feels great. Puck swallows the saliva that has gathered in his mouth and waits out every wave of pleasure that flows through his veins. Absently, he thinks about what Quinn would say; about the fact that she would ban their daughter from seeing him again but he doesn't really care now even though his daughter means a lotto him.

Soon, he is laying on his sofa, in a fetal position and shivering slightly. The pleasure has gone leaving him cold, very cold even though they are in the midst of summer. He swallows again. Everything seems so blurry and he cannot concentrate on anything. But there is a distinct taste of disappointment on the tip of his tongue. This is so unlike the first time he did H.

It was just after his divorce, in the middle of winter at a pub in Lima. Chief was the name he went by; the name everyone knew him by. No one knew his real name and that's what made Chief so interesting. Puck was instantly drawn in to the man. Maybe it was the way the older man called him 'son' or maybe it was the way he reminded Puck of the father he had always wanted but never had. Any which way he ended up trusting this man.

This man, Chief was nearly twice his age and very good at talking and before he knew it, Puck was taking more than a few shots of whiskey; he was in a room full of junkies and curiously looking around. And then there was the needle, right into his arm and the euphoria and joy that coursed through him was everything he thought he had ever wanted. And suddenly, Quinn didn't mean anything to him and neither did Beth.

All that mattered was H and that was it. But soon, Chief started asking for more and more money and Puck's savings started to dwindle and his addiction grew. But as much as he had wanted to kick the habit, he couldn't. And before he knew it, it was his life and he was looking to get an opportunity to get a shot every time and anytime he could.

Puck shakes the drowsiness out of his head and squeezes his eyes shut. The room is spinning and he is sleepy but then he sees the needle lying around. And then distantly, he begins to panic. What was he going to do with the needle, the syringe, the band? What was he going to do with them? He couldn't let his baby girl see him like this. And so Puck decides that he will destroy all evidence that he had ever done any of the drugs, so he stumbles out of his attic and down the stairs into the living room. He struggles with the door knob for a moment and then turns the lock and lets himself out.

He is still drowsy and everything seems to be a bit of a blur but he carries on and spots a dumpster just opposite the old couple's home. He wobbles opposite the house and discards of his waste and then stumbles back to the apartment, or at least that was what he had planned to do because a car comes at high speed and the next thing he knows, he is in a bed, with his head in a cast and a light shining right into his left eye.

"Beth?" he murmurs but there is no answer. All he hears is _he's awake! Mister, I need you to stay with me, stay with me. That's right, now look into my face and concentrate on me. Doctor, there is severe bleeding from the head. Prepare the surgical table, I think we need to operate on him. _And that is when everything truly becomes a blur.

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**A/N: hey there, looking to get at least 25 REVIEWS by next Saturday! Please help to make my dream come through by reviewing. reviews just make me happy! So PLEASE, PLEASE REVIEW! It will make me update faster :) so if you want the next chapter up ASAP, review! If you read this chapter, review it! it would mean loads to me! 25 reviews! there are hundreds of you out there, and I'm only asking for 25 so pleeeeaaaaseee!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

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...Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for thou art with me...

-Psalm 23

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Everything is dark and he's feet don't seem to touch the ground. Puck surveys his surroundings and looks around him. There is nothingness just a cold icy emptiness and he hates to admit it but he is afraid. It is quiet at first but not long after, there are cries for helps, cries of agony, pain; suffering. There is an angry orange, reddish glow not far ahead and the young man is sure that that is where the voices are coming from.

He swallows the saliva that has caught in his throat as he moves toward the cries for help and mercy and that is when he sees them. They are burning, but are not burning out. Their faces are hideous and he can see that they are truly in pain. Flames engulf their entire being and this is when Puck realizes that he is crying. This is a sight unlike any other and it truly is scaring him. Each soul screams out to him for help and some are telling him to stay away and never to come close, not even an inch closer and Puck is more than willing to oblige.

Could this be hell? The inevitable question pops out of his head and he begins to tremble at the thought, buckets of tears falling from his eyes. He knows he'd done some terrible things in the past, smoke weed, shoot heroin, knock up a teenage girl, but he didn't think that he would end up here at the end of the road.

And then Puck looks up. It is tranquil and peaceful and white. And the spirits are singing praises in joy and happiness and there is where he wants to be at the end. Immediately Puck knows that that is the place that he was meant to be after life and not this angry red hell.

Heaven was real. He'd known he had doubted this for the longest time when his father gave him the black eye or when he found a lady's bra in his dad's drawers when he was looking for some sticky tape for a science project, he'd known that he had hated life, hated everything for a long time. And all he had wanted to do was hurt people. The kids at the dumpsters, the kids he pushed their faces in the toilet. He knew they hated him but he hated them more. And then there is a face in his mind's eye, Jesus. The Lover of his soul and he knows that he cannot be apart from Him. He knows that up is where He is and where he wants to be also.

And then the visions are gone and he is in a bed.

_Please Puck, speak to me. Answer me, if you answer me we can start again you know, we can begin again. Me, you and Beth, one big happy family. _

His hand has been lifted up and are brought to a face. His beautiful Quinn, his beautiful Quinn. He wishes he can open his eyes, can tell her that he loves her and will never leave her but he cannot. This is something that he just cannot do. He wants to tell her that he's alright and that he wants her so badly but he cannot. And so he expresses his words the only way he can. He cries.

The tears are warm against his cheek as they run clear. They are met with a piece of tissue which wipes them away. Her fingers brush against his flesh and he twitches a little; though not enough for her to notice.

He can hear, he can feel, he can smell but he cannot see and nor can he move. He feels cold, his chest is uncovered; he can tell by the way it is so cold he wishes he had a thicker blanket. He can feel and quite honestly, he feels like a pile of crap. His arms feel pretty beat up and his chest aches like crazy and then there's his head, it feels like a giant ball of rock; it's so stiff he can barely feel the breeze of the air conditioning in the room.

His sense of touch begins to course through him as he tries to move, but he cannot make any major movements. So instead of waving his arms in the air or sitting up, he twitches his fingers. His bed is wet and he finds this strange because there is only one reason it could be. Could he have been so stoned that he had wet his pants in his sleep. Now he is really beginning to feel embarrassed. What would Beth think of a father who's 23 years old and still wets the bed? He mentally curses the embarrassment that was sure to ensue

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"Daddy?" her voice is so soft and so gentle that he is not even sure he's heard it. But it is unmistakable; the quiet chorus of that beautiful note holds his attention. He is desperate to turn and look at her but he cannot, there is something blocking his movements and he feels terrible. But then he manages to open his left eye and then his right and then he manages to tilt his head slightly to his left. It is her, it is his baby.

"Beth?" he murmurs under his breath and that is when he realizes that his throat is incredibly dry and he's thirsty, so very thirsty. "Beth", he calls again, this time louder and she springs to his side.

"Mummy! Mummy! Daddy's awake! He's awake!"

And then suddenly there is Quinn and she's sprung up from where she was sitting half-asleep and she has pressed the nurse button and she is looking into his face. He looks up at her. The vision of his ex-wife is blurred but she slowly comes into focus. And that is when he notices that he has been in a state not knowing up or down, left or right, nor today or tomorrow. Time seemed like a total fantasy.

There is concern in her face. This is unmistakable but he sees something else, disappointment. And then he realizes that she has found out about his addiction. He watches as she lifts her hand from her side and then gently, hesitantly caresses his left cheek.

Her touch is soft against his stubble but it feels like Heaven. And then her thumb slides over the bottom of his eye, it hurts but he doesn't wince because it's Quinn. She looks like she is about to kiss him or about to hug him but then a nurse comes into his room and his fantasy melts away.

Quinn pulls back from him, wiping her tears away and laughing a little when the older woman tries to comfort her.

"He's… he's just woken up", she says through her tears as she laughs at her own uncontrollable emotions and then the nurse moves to inspect Puck.

"It's okay sweetheart, he looks really good, considering he's been here for two weeks. I'll go get the doctor, now you've got to promise me that you'll be okay", she tells Quinn who nods, still wiping away her tears.

Realization dawns on Puck as he realizes that he is lying in a hospital that what he just saw was not a dream but an experience close to death. Could it be that he was drifting in between life and death; death and life? He is so confused but what matters now is that he is here with his family by his side. He closes his eyes as the doctor pulls the curtains to cover him and then moves to inspect him.

He hears words like 'he's okay', 'he'll be fine', 'we need to change the dressing', 'it's truly a miracle', and then he drifts off again, knowing, in his heart that he has a wife and daughter who will always be there for him.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

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An angry man is again angry at himself when he returns to reason

-Publilius Syrus

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Two weeks, four days and twenty-one hours is the amount of time that has passed since the accident and although Puck hasn't told anyone, he is beginning to discover the withdrawal symptoms that come when you are too far away from H. There is this sense of depression, the sense of self-worthlessness when he is awake. Sometime, when Quinn hasn't brought Beth over, he feels like killing himself, like climbing to the top of the building and jumping off, but then there is always that face. Jesus and Puck can never do it because there is unfinished business. He's heard about Jesus, and he wants to know more.

He is flipping through the channels on the television when they come to him. There are two of them, one dressed in white, the other in blue; both have the same coloured jacket, black; the colour Puck has come to associate with death.

They're expressions are indifferent at most, not something you'd expect from visitors; but he gives them the respect that they deserve and switches off the television as he steels himself for the words that are about to come out of their mouths. He catches a glimpse of their badges and this is when he, for the first time in many years, feels truly intimidated.

"Mister Noah Puckerman?"

Puck looks away from the black screen and straight at the man who is speaking. He looks way older than he is and Puck is sure that this man's job cannot hold a candle to his, cleaning pools was the best job in the world. There was no need for stuffy suits, no need for badges, and most importantly, no need for a college degree. These are things that he's been telling himself in order to calm his nerves. He eyes the man as warily as the man is eyeing him.

The man looks stern, angry almost and for some strange reason this is something that is beginning to affect Puck. Puck swallows the saliva in his mouth and hardens his gaze at the man.

"That's me." Pucks's voice is hard as rock as he stares right back at the man and steels his gaze.

"I'm Captain Jordan Price, and this is my partner, Lieutenant Braiden Gift, we're with the Ohio State Police Department and we're here to speak with you."

Puck is beginning to feel slightly more than nervous at this point. He's done H, smoked weed, been into shop lifting, been to juvy, what is this all about now?

"Mister Puckerman, we have some good news for you and some bad ones", Jordon Price continues, Puck notices the gold band around his left ring finger and there is a slight tugging at his heart when he remembers that he'd barely worn his when he was qualified to be called a husband. The man spots him looking at the ring and stuffs his hands into his pockets.

"First, we'd like to let you know that the man who hit you has been arrested and brought in for questioning. I've spoken to the DA and she says that he's looking at about two months, maybe even three. That's the good news."

Puck looks Jordon Price up and down. He knows that this is not the only reason this man is here. In the time he's been out, they must have withdrew samples of his blood, and found the drug in his system, they must've noticed his depression over these few days and they most absolutely must know that this is not just a one off thing but something that has already grown to an addiction, Puck swallows hard.

"Mister Puckerman", the Lieutenant speaks up and looks him in the eye. This man is not much older than he is; he's probably twenty-five, twenty-six years old? Puck stares him down, trying to intimidate him. But it doesn't seem to be working. "We have reason to believe that you are endangering your daughter's life", he throws the report onto the table where the hospital staff normally place his food and Puck slowly picks it up.

There is are sentences highlighted in yellow so they stand out from the other words and that is when he sees words like 'Heroin found in blood stream', 'patient seems to have injected the drug intravenously'. And when he flips to the next page the words of the judge that are highlighted somehow don't surprise him 'Mr. Noah Puckerman poses a threat to his seven-year old daughter, Beth Fabray Puckerman and therefore visitation rights have been revoked for a minimum of twelve weeks', Puck looks up at the men in front of him and shakes his head.

They cannot do this to him; there is no way they are taking his little girl from him. There is no way he will let them.

"You bastards!" he exclaims as he rises from his hospital bed and lands a punch on the lieutenant's left jaw. He is quickly subdued by the captain and pressed tightly against the bed, the sickeningly familiar sound of handcuffs coming from his back. "There's no way you bastards are taking my daughter away from me! Not a chance in the world!"

"Calm down Mister Puckerman, if you don't do as I say, I'm afraid I'll have to take you downtown. I'm giving you a chance here", Price's voice is low and calm, almost as if he's seen this a million times before. "You're gonna cooperate", it's not a question but Puck nods his head anyway, this could be his chance to show that he's better than this, that he's indeed a good father.

"Will you… ", he hesitates, he hates to show manners to scumbags like these but he doens't have much of a choice. "Will you please let me go? I need to speak with Quinn about this", he says but is cut off by the lieutenant.

"I'm afraid the report was submitted by Miss Lucy Quinn Fabray", the man takes a deep breath, still cupping his sore cheek. "She's requested that we do all in our power to keep you away from her and your daughter. We've spoken to the judge and he's issued a warrant that allows us to keep you away from their house under all circumstances and that is what we will do. As for your heroin addiction, you will be put into a rehab centre as soon as you are discharged from this hospital."

They leave and Puck feels colder than ever and then he looks up.

There is a slight bitterness within his mouth as he stares up at the ceiling, the thought of losing Beth sinking in unpleasant taste is the taste of betrayal, something that he is unfortunate to be familiar with. He'd thought that the accident was a blessing in disguise, that it was something that would bring him and his ex-wife together again but he was wrong. Why did Quinn choose to do this to him?

Puck sits up, his head throbbing as he picks up the phone. There is a voice.

"Operator, who do you wish to call."

"Quinn, Quinn Fabray." He tells her and in an instant, the call is connected to the receiver of his ex-wife.

"Hello?" she asks and immediately there are tears in his eyes as his lips are trembling. Betrayal. How could he speak to someone who's turned him in and prevented him from visiting his little girl? He feel a lump go down his throat and he is angered.

"Crap you", his voice is harsh but he doesn't care. "Crap you Quinn, how could you do this to me? I thought you said we were better; that there could be another beginning for us?" there is a note of anger, hatred and vulnerability. But he doesn't stop there, even though his eyes are teary and his lips are trembling. "How could you let them take her away from me?

She is quiet for a few heartbeats and when she speaks, her voice is calm and measured.

"When we were in high school, you smoked weed, fought in public, got into juvy and I gave you a chance Puck, damn I tried and now you shoot heroin?" she pauses for a brief moment. "How do you expect me to chance my daughter's safety in your hands?" her voice is stern and he can see what she means but he cannot help from exploding.

"Crap you Quinn, you know what? I'm gonna fight you for the full custody for Beth and you know what else? I don't care what you told the police, I'm going to take Beth away from you and you will never see her again." And then he slams the phone down and breathes heavily. This, truly means war. And even though he is angry with Quinn, he is angrier at himself and then for the first time in his life, he looks up into Heaven and prays that Jesus be his Shepard because no one else can be.

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**A/N: Hey there! So here's the conflict! Hoping to receive at least 25 REVIEWS for this chapter by next Saturday. Chapter 5, will be posted in about one to two weeks time and i hope that when it is out, you will read and review!  
**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

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I hold on so tightly because I cannot let you go

-Anonymous

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It's about 10.30 at night by the time Quinn pulls their grey, second-hand SUV into the parking space just in front of the building where they live. She doesn't move for a moment; she doesn't rush up to her bed and lie down until she falls asleep, even though she is exhausted after practically camping beside her ex-husband's bed with Beth (who mind you is getting heavier by the day) sitting on her lap and sucking on her thumb. Two weeks. Two almost-entire weeks she's sat beside his bed in the hope that he would wake up. And then earlier today, he did.

It started with a twitch and then he was moving and his eyes were open and before she had realised it, she had sprung by his side and put her hand on his bruised cheek. And then she remembers the look she gave him, it was sad, embarrassed, livid almost, and the look her gave her. Apologetic.

She sighs and clenches her jaw as she watches the wipers go from right to left, and then left to right. It's raining outside. Maybe that's the reason why she is still in her car, with her seven-year old strapped comfortably in the back seat, sucking on her left thumb, sleeping soundly. But the rain is not the reason why she cannot move. It's the news the doctor delivered to her the night she rushed over to the hospital after the police gave her that frightening call.

It was delivered quite well but well is not the way to describe her reaction. She just stood there like a statue as her daughter tried to wake a sleeping Puck. She'd known Puck was a badass. She'd known him for years, but to shoot heroin? That was something she never thought he was capable of. Heroin. The word runs through her mind like a cheetah and she feels dizzy just thinking about it. All this time she'd trusted him with Beth and he shoots heroin? A thousand questions pass her mind. Was she a good mother; letting her little girl stay with a drug addict? Was she stupid? She most definitely was. She should have known by the way he was always slightly detached from the world, the way he drifted away from her face when they talk.

Puck was trouble from the start. He'd smoked weed, shop-lifted, brawled in public. Why hadn't she realised that this was a possibilty? Why didn't she allow herself some time to listen to her inner voice? There must have been something about him that made her leave. It must've been something terrible. And that was when she realises it. She'd left him because he was not good enough for her. He wasn't the kind of guy she'd wanted to be with the rest of her life. And she must have thought him a not-good-enough father to Beth, if not why did she fight so hard for custody?

Puck is a bad father.

She turns this information angryly in her head because damn it, she trusted him. She trusted her prescious bundle of joy into his arms and goodness knows how many times he'd shot heroin whilst in the presence of their daughter.

Quinn scrunches her brows together as an aching pain shoots through her being. He put Beth's life in danger? She'd no idea he'd slipped so low and now there's that sickening anger in her blood that flows all through her, except it isn't just anger, it's hatred and the unmistakable feeling of betrayal. She allows her head to fall on the rim of her stirring wheel as she turns the information through her senses over and over again.

But then there is another emotion in her gut. And she closes her eyes in shame. Damn her, damn her feelings, it's love. Damn it, she still loves him. And that was why she'd cry when she'd gotten the news, sobbed when she touched his swollen face. Damn her, she loves him and she is certain that this will not stop for a long time. He was her first; the man who made her a woman and even though she is angry to admit it, she loves him still, even though he is a handful and she cannot bear to look at those cheating eyes again.

She glances at medical report that was given to her. It rests innocently on the seat behind her. With slight hesitation she scans through the report. Heroin. The word shines at her hideosly when she looks at it. Heroin. Why? There is no way she can comprehend why he would do something like that because she wouldn't.

She turns and looks at her daughter again and then she knows what she will to do.

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She finds herself somewhere she never expected to be in her entire life. She is at the Ohio State Police Department, sitting on a wooden bench as she watches men and women in uniform walk around the station. And that is when she sees him. He is fair, tall, well built with deep blue eyes. He is wearing a neatly pressed black suit with his badge placed nicely on his belt. He looks smart, intelligent and determined; things you seldom see on people from her part of Lima.

He approaches her and sits beside her. She can smell his perfume, it is slightly sweet scented, strong enough to get her a whiff but not strong enough for her to sneeze with discomfort. Absently she thinks that he smells great and then she mentally slaps herself. It's time to be serious and all she could think about is the scent he carried?

"Miss Fabray? It's nice to meet you, I'm Detective Braiden Gift", he lifts his hand up for her to shake and she takes it. He is not here to harm her, this she is certain of. "I received the case files, and I understand that your ex-husband has been using heroin frequently?" she waits for the words to sink in as she watches him flip through the report. "it says here that you are afraid for your daughter's safety and that you wish to request that he cannot see her until he is ridded of his addiction, is that correct?"

At the mention of the offending drug, Quinn doesn't know what to say because she hates the word and the possible harm it mibht have caused her daughter. And so, without uttering a single word, she nods. And that is enough to give him an answer.

"I have some good news", he says as pleasantly as he can because he knows that nothing that relates to heroin can be positive. "We have the warrant from the judge. It says that Mister Puckerman is under no circumstances allowed to contact you or your daughter for the next twelve weeks. We've discussed this with the hospital staff and they agree that it would be best that your daughter keeps away from Mister Puckerman as he poses a grave threat to her safety."

Quinn is shaking now, she know that Puck will be furious at this, that he will be unhappy because Beth is the apple of his eye. But she also knows that this step is absolutely crucial because she is not willing to risk her daughter's safety in the hands of such a man.

"The captain and I will be incharge of yours and your daughter's safety, so there's nothing to worry about. We will have officers passing by your house every few hours to make sure that everything is in place. And we will see Mister Puckerman tomorrow." He smiles at her and this is when she begins to get slightly annoyed at the detective's antics.

This is no joke. Heroin could kill in the hands of the wrong people and although she knows that this man is trying to make her more comfortable, she cannot help but be slightly annoyed because she wishes that he were more serious in handling this matter, instead of smiling. So she rolls her eyes and doesn't care if he sees her do this or not.

The next day, she waits for Beth at her school. She knows she is complete paranoia because their home is just a stone-throw's away from the school and Beth normally walks back on her own. But Quinn is taking no chances. And so when Beth emerges from the gates, Quinn rushes to pick her up even though she knows that there is no way Puck can take her away. She presses her lips to her daughter's forehead, as the geniune emotion of relief washes over her entire being.

Beth shies away from her mother lips because she is seven and no one seven has their mum kissing them like that anymore. But she has no means of getting away from those lips because they are pressed tightly to her left cheek and she rolls her eyes.

Quinn takes her daughter back home and makes sure that she gets her nap because if she doesn't take a nap, she would be all cranky in the morning. And just as Beth falls asleep, the phone rings and she picks it up.

"Hello?"

"Crap you Quinn", is what she hears and then the words "I'm gonna fight you for the full custody for Beth and you know what else? I don't care what you told the police, I'm going to take Beth away from you and you will never see her again" and then the phone line is cut and she is left to collapse onto the ground because she cannot lose her daughter.

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**A/N: Here's chapter 5! Please, please read and REVIEW! Looking to get at least 30 REVIEWS please! thanks!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

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Revenge is the bitter aftermath of hate

-Anonymous

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Puck finds himself free. It is warm as he sits on a bench outside the hospital. The police don't know it but after he was discharged from the hospital early and has three days before he is set to be in the rehab facility. With an opportunity at hand, and a mind as lopsided as his best friend's smile, Puck heads straight back to Club Paradise, the place where he met Chief.

His eyes are keen and his senses open as his allows his eyes to roam around the area, looking for the older man. And there he is, tall and strong with that infamous smile as he sips on his beer. Puck faintly registers that it's a Tiger, Chief's favourite brew. The older man is talking to younger one, Kenny, another drug addict; someone Pucks has come to know over the years. Kenny looks lost; eyes ducking the Chief's stern gaze. Puck knows the kind of conversation they are having even though he cannot hear them.

Money.

Puck's been there himself, scared, shaking, desperate. Heroin can have that effect on you. It makes you high one moment but as soon as the high drops to rock bottom, you are cold and you don't know what to do but get some more. But then there is always the issue of dollars and cents and Puck cannot help but swallow hard. He has a couple grand in the bank but that's it, nothing left. A part of him feels distantly guilty because that money was meant for Beth's piano but he cannot think of another way of getting his fix of H but that money.

He eyes Chief and Kenny as their conversation escalates into a full out argument. He is careful not to be seen. Because after all, Chief is not a man who likes his conversations to be subjects of eavesdropping. And so Puck sticks to the side of the tavern and watches as the argument unfolds and then Kenny is decked on the right jaw by one of Chief's men and stumbles into the counter just behind him. Puck's guessing that their little discussion didn't go too well.

He watches as Chief moves toward the other man and embeds his fist in his stomach before whispering into his ear. It's a warning, maybe even a threat; Puck doesn't know but what he does know is that Chief is definitely in a foul mood. And so as a means to help poor Kenny, Puck calls the attention of the older man to himself.

"Yo Chief!" his voice is hoarse and slightly scratchy but he doesn't pay much heed, it must be the fact that he has been too far from heroin for too long a time. He holds out a fifty and waves it at the older man as he places the money on the counter and orders himself and Chief a pitcher of cold beer. Chief looks at him and gives him a smile as he puffs on his cigar. He heads toward Puck. Puck brings the pitcher and two glasses to a booth and waits for Chief to sit across from him, knowing full well that the silver-haired man cannot resist a drink of the golden liquid.

"Puck! How have you been buddy?" he asks as he blows the smoke in Puck's direction. Puck coughs a little because he hasn't been smoking for almost two years now.

"I'm fine", he says as he sips on the beer he has poured for himself. "Listen", Puck begins in a hushed voice as he surveys his surroundings, "I need some H, it's getting to me", he says in reference to the amount, or lack thereof, of heroin he has available to him. He doesn't mask his desperation because there is no need, Chief is too smart for him and will see right through his bravado and that's why he chooses not to have one.

"Yeah?" the elderly man asks as he leans back in his chair and inhales deeply on his cigar. "Well, I have some if you have some", he whispers to the younger man as he leans forward. Puck swallows hard as he sees Kenny being dragged out back by Chief's men. That could well be him if he played this the wrong way.

"Yeah? Well I do have some", Puck answers and slaps two hundred dollar bills on the table as he leans back against the booth. He watches as Chief eyes the money greedily and then after a brief moment, stuffs the dough into his pocket. "Follow me out back", he says in a gruff voice as he takes a final sip of his beer and stands up, making a path in crowed for Puck to walk through. Puck can feel his blood coming alive again as anticipation seeps in. He follows Chief into the back room which predictably is full of junkies and waits as the man takes a vial from his stash and passes it to Puck.

Puck cannot help himself. He takes the vial out of the other man's hand and collects the equipment he requires from the usual place. Sitting down on the couch, he draws the liquid from the vial with a needle and then presses the needle to his flesh. The prick is painful but welcomed as he pushes the plunger and waits for the fluid to flow through his veins. It does and soon he is filled with that familiar euphoria. He inhales deeply and savors every wave of pleasure.

But when the pleasure disappears, he is left to curl on himself and wait out the cold chill of the night; the cold chill of the pleasure leaking from his bones.

When he comes to, Chief is looking straight at him as he pushes some more vials of heroin into his hand. Puck stands, although still wobbly and heads out of the tavern. He walks back to his home and stops by to make a call to Quinn.

"Hello?" she asks.

"Hey, Quinn, I love you, I really love you, I want us to be together again; with Beth, we can make it. Just… please", he manages to mumble out, his voice laced with emotions and even a hint of regret but Quinn is buying none of it.

"Puck, get off the line, there is no way I'm going to let you take her. Leave us alone", she tells him in a harsh voice and the phone line is cut.

"Quinn? Quinn?" there is no answer and this is when the effects of the drugs join with the deadly effects of his raging anger and when he decides that he hates Quinn and that his life is worthless. He is aching for a way out of his predicament, and a way to get back at her. And at that same exact moment, he decides that there is a way he can end it all and take total revenge on her; hurt her beyond recognition, and that is to take Beth away from her forever; it is something that in his mind, is something better for all of them.

* * *

"Daddy!" she screams and rushes into her father's open arms. Puck holds onto her and takes in her scent. She smells like strawberries and he smiles. He likes that she still carries the same scent that she did when she was a baby. He hugs her close as he carries her into his truck.

She sits in the passenger seat and tightens her seat belt around her waist. This is awesome. She hasn't seen her father in weeks and this is exactly what she wants; time with her father. She doesn't know why but her mother has been very on edge lately, Mummy said that she had to keep away from Daddy and even made it a point to remind her earlier this morning before she left for school.

Beth has always been an obedient child but what harm could ensue if she was with her father? He's everything that she wants in a dad, he's kind, caring, doting and always showers her with gifts. She loves her daddy more than anyone; and if she dare says, even more than her Mummy. Beth looks at her father as he drives.

"Daddy, where are we going?" she asks innocently as she watches the landscape change right before her very eyes. They have been driving for hours and now they are in a place where she has never been before, this feels strange because neither of her parents have ever taken her out of Lima but now she is obviously out of not only Lima but probably out of Ohio. She surveys her surroundings and is beginning to feel afraid.

Pucks turns to her, he has mapped out his entire plan to the moment and destination and is determined to execute it but a brief look into the face of his daughter, what with her long, blonde hair and her pretty, pink butterfly clip on the crown of her head and the way she looks at him with those brilliant eyes, he almost feels guilty enough to make a U-turn and head back for Lima Ohio. Almost. He doesn't. Instead, he hardens his heart at his little girl and continues with the drive.

The sun has nearly set by the time they reach their destination. He allows her out of the truck and onto the highway. She is more than happy to finally be able to stretch her legs out and enjoy the breeze. She watches the sunset completely oblivious to the fact that her own father is approaching her with a long piece of wire in his hands.

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**A/N: Gasp! What will happen? Please review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**7 years ago**

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I don't know how much I love you because no scale can contain my love for you

-Anonymous

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It feels safe here and she loves it. His warmth, his scent, the way he holds her. Quinn is in a really good place right now. She snuggles closer into his chest and inhales deeply. She tightens her grip on him and realizes quite distantly that he smells a little like lemons, nice, yellow, fresh, citrusy lemons. She rubs her face into his well muscled chest and registers faintly that she his shirt is that little bit scratchy against the softness of her cheek.

There is a certain amount of wetness on her forehead as she feels the sensation of a fleeting kiss course through her body. She likes this. Finn is definitely a comfortable thing to be leaning on. She nearly falls asleep what with the comfort of his body temperature and the security of his left hand tracing circles on her back, but is startled slightly when the crown of her head vibrates as he talks to her.

"Hey", he whispers and she looks up into his face, his kind, smooth, smiling face. That's what she loves about him; his face. The way it is always smiling at her and the way he looks so kind. She loves him more than anyone and is more than happy that she is here with him. "You wanna watch something else? Cause they're gonna replay the match tomorrow, I can catch it then", he tells her as she smiles up at him. He is smiling again and she pushes herself up to meet his lips.

The kiss is not fleeting like his kiss on her forehead, It is slow, fully drawn out and pure bliss. She sighs into his mouth as he tugs on her lower lip. She feels like she's ready to die now.

"It's alright", she tells him drowsily when they part as she lazily lays her head on his shoulder. "I like watching football", she whispers and he chuckles. The laugh is conveys to her ears through his chest and she finds herself looking at her quarterback boyfriend with strange eyes.

"You're dosing off, and you tell me you like watching football?" he questions and then he laughs again. The sound is contagious because she finds herself laughing back and not only that, she finds her fingers curled up around a cushion at the side of the couch and she is hitting him playfully over the head.

He looks at her, eyes playful and that goofy smile lightening up his features as he grabs another cushion from the other side of her couch and hits her gently over the head. She laughs in a slightly high-pitched voice as she tries to escape him but just as she manages to pull away from her boyfriend, she is pulled back by the waist and brought right into his warm embrace.

She laughs and so does he and then their eyes lock. And before either of them knows what has happened, they are kissing and the television has magically turned off by itself and she is on top of him as she moves to entertain the flesh on his neck.

And that is when he gently inches his hand up her thighs and almost reaches the rim of her cheerleading uniform when she smacks his hand away and pushes away from him playfully.

"None of that until we're married", she chastises him and he pouts slightly but is gentlemanly enough to laugh away his urges and excuse himself for the washroom. She considers the situation. It did take her a substantial amount of effort; denying him that pleasure because she has to admit that although she has been taught to abstain from sex, her body wants this, she wants him but she cannot allow this hunger jeopardize her spirituality.

He returns to the living room and Quinn notices, even though she doesn't comment on it, that his face is drenched in water and he is blushing a deep dark red. She cannot help but smile. He's so bad at expressions. A goofy smile graces his face when he catches her looking at him and he starts toward her.

She finds herself in his arms once again and this time, they do not kiss, they do not do anything, except lay against each other lazily enjoying the quiet of her living room.

There is a sound and both teens spring up from where they were lazing around on the couch and on instinct, look at the door, waiting for an adult to pop in at any given moment. But no one did. Finn breathes a sigh of relief and look down at Quinn who seems to have done the same.

"I think I should go", he says after a moment and she agrees. It's 3.30 in the afternoon and Quinn is sure that neither of her parents are coming back anytime soon but just to play safe, she allows her boyfriend to leave. She watches as he packs his bags and then smiling, remembers that they were supposed to be doing their geography homework together but got a little... distracted. "Oh!" he exclaims and Quinn looks at him quizzically. "I forgot, I didn't drive here", he tells her and she shakes her head. "I'll get Puck to pick me up", he tells her and she nods.

She knows of this guy he mentioned. A mohawk, one that stands tall on the middle of his head flashes into her head, his slight dark-skin and she recalls faintly that he is guy that throws kids into dumpsters. She's never spoken to the boy before but there is something about him that draws her in. She wants to know more about him but then right now, she just brushes through that thought because she had to concentrate on her boyfriend.

They wait for so long she seriously considers sending him home but then, there is the sound of a car parking and then he emerges through the door. Puck. His even his name is exotic and Quinn finds herself staring right into the boy's eyes. They are beautiful; she notices this when he meets her gaze. Time stops for several heartbeats as they examine each other as if they were specimens under a microscope and there is something intriguing about this person but she justcannot figure out what.

"This is my girlfriend Quinn",she hears Finn's voice cut the line of concentration the two teens have built with each other. "Quinn, this is my best friend, Noah Puckerman", he says and for a moment Quinn is frozen, until there is a hand offered to her from Noah.

"Hey", he says and breaks her out of her trance. It takes awhile beofore she realises that it is for her to shake and so gently she picks his hand in hers and shakes it. He smiles at her and she feels a bolt of lightness pass through her body, this is nothing like how Finn makes her feel.

Finn makes her feel safe and secure but this boy, Noah Puckerman makes her feel all shades of curious. He holds her gaze for a few more moments as both teens watch each other.

"Dude, we gotta go, my mum would freak if I get home too late", Finn's voice rings through both of their ears and they finally snap out of their stupor. And then Finn's lips are on her cheek and she is saying goodbye and then just before Noah pulls away from the sidewalk, he winks. She is annoyed at his boldness.

Quinn closes the door behind her and leans on it for comfort and and despite the other boy's cockiness, she cannot help but smile.

There's just something that she likes about Puck; just a little something.

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**A/N: For the next few chapters, I will be writing about Puck and Quinn's romance pre-Beth and their early marriage periods. Bear with me! You will enjoy these... hopefully... review!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

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You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams

- Dr. Seuss

* * *

Upon closer inspection there is something wrong with the Valentine's Day gift in her locker. They are perfect, beautiful, luscious red roses, wrapped neatly in a plastic cone and placed in her locker with petals sprinkled all around them. She'd thought it was Finn's handy work; that it was her boyfriend who bothered a visit to the florist to get her some of her favourite flowers for this special occasion. But upon closer inspection, something seems to be amiss.

They are delicate roses… beautiful; too beautiful almost and so romantic. Finn isn't that kind of person. He'd much rather give a girl a burger than give her a bouquet of flowers. She considers this for several heartbeats, Finn isn't exactly the world's brightest guy when it comes to matters of the opposite sex but then, could he have exceeded her expectations this time? She ponders again and decides that this just isn't his style. Last month when he got her a present for her birthday, it was a ballpoint pen made by Pilot. How romantic is that? Seriously! She drags the bouquet out of the locker and looks at it.

It is gorgeous; absolutely beautiful and that is what makes this so wrong. There's no note, nothing, just the flowers and the petals that surround them. She purses her lips together and wonders for a moment. Who could this be? Whoever it was has got some… how should she put it? Guts. Yes, guts. Her boyfriend was right at the top of the food chain, his best friend's Noah Puckerman, the one who sent kids flying into dumpsters and closes the door on them, yes, CLOSES THE DOOR ON THEM. So who would be so foolish as to try and bait the girlfriend of such a person?

She shakes her head and clears her mind. Could she be exaggerating everything? Finn's a great guy and so what if he had some goofy moments? Maybe, just maybe he was capable of this. And then there are a pair of arms that reach out and hug her from behind and she finds herself forgetting all about the roses as she turns around and wraps her arms around his broad shoulders, flowers in hand.

"Thanks for the roses", she tells him despite her trepidation and immediately feels his body stiffen.

"What roses?" he questions as he pulls away from her; face contorted in a quizzical expression. She frowns, as she pulls them from behind his back, she knew it. A woman's instincts are never wrong.

"These aren't from you", it isn't a question.

"No. I got you an even better present, this is for you", he tells her and pulls out his winning medal. She holds it and then smiles at him. "I won it for you", he tells her as he gives her the expression that demands a kiss. She gives him a small peck and pulls away slowly. "I love you", he states matter-of-factly and gives her a wide, goofy smile. She cannot help but catch his infectious happiness.

"I love you too", she tells him.

"What are these?" he questions as a frown plays slowly on his features and he holds the roses in her hand in his own gently. She watches with a slight quiver in her stomach as he examines the flowers and his expression gets graver.

"They aren't from you?"

"No", he states distractedly as he looks into her locker and spots the petals and for the first time in their five month relationship, feels a tugging in his heart that makes him slightly angry. Who was this unknown person? What did he want from his girlfriend? "It looks like you have a secret admirer", his voice is less than eager now that he knows he has a competitor at large.

It's strange because it's almost like his heart is racing beneath her ribcage, almost as if his heart were her own. She places her right hand on his chest. He feels threatened and she knows exactly why. She is puzzled herself.

"Looks like you have a secret admirer", he repeats sighing and pouts slightly. She smiles at him and kisses his lips gently.

"It's nothing to be worried about", she tells him even though there is a tingling at her heart and just a little pride setting in, she has a secret admirer; she just wonders who. And then before she knows it, she is on tiptoe and she is kissing him tenderly on the lips. And when she pulls away, she places the roses into her locker and settles into her boyfriend's arms. That is when she sees him, Noah Puckerman, he is wearing a grey shirt and jeans and he is staring at her from the second floor and then when their eyes meet, he winks, a perfectly annoying smirk formed on his lips.

* * *

"Finn's not here, can I take a message", his voice rings all around her and she turns to his direction. It's that guy again, the annoying one, Puckerman. He is walking slowly, Finn's phone in his left hand. She rolls her eyes and stands as a means to protect herself should he decide to do anything to hurt her and watches as he walks all the way from the entrance of the gym to where she is standing, at the back of it. Quinn watches as his eyes trace her figure from head to toe as he eyes her like a lion eyes its prey. She is really starting to feel slightly nervous and clutches more tightly to her bag pack.

"It's Quinn right?" he asks as a means to confirm her identity and continues to approach her. "I see you've gotten Finn's message", he says as he waves her boyfriend's phone at her and is so direct it annoys her to no end. "You know, you shouldn't just trust texts", he says as he reaches his destination, where she is standing. "Sometimes people get into trouble because they are too gullible", he states matter-of-factly and suddenly she feels really upset at this guy. He's suggesting that she is gullible?

She's a straight A student who studies psychology in her free time and he says that she is gullible as he would chastising a child? She grits her teeth together. She really isn't all that comfortable with this boy.

"Hey Quinn, meet you at the gym after school, I love you, Finn", Puck recites the text she received just after Spanish class and she rolls her eyes. She is face to face with him now and then she chuckles, a sweet sounding sound. She sighs and puts her hand on her face, as if to hide her embarrassment.

"Oh my gosh I can't believe I fell for that. You're Finn's best friend right?" he nods as a smile formed on his lips. "So, what's up?" she questions as she puts her hands on her hips.

"Well, I like you", he states firmly and gently captures her in his arm. She looks at him, her cheeks turning a light shade of pink as she removes herself out of his gentle grasp.

"Oh my God", she says smiling a little, "you're really trying to steal me from Finn?" she asks, exasperated.

"I can give you what you want, I've got loads of experience with girls, I'm practically a modern day Casanova", he tells her, a large smirk still plastered over his features. "You're a lucky girl Quinn; any girl would jump at the chance to be with me, have you any idea what it's like to be the love of Puckzzila's world? I will rock you", he is getting increasingly annoying and Quinn finds herself thinking that this is the most obnoxious person she has ever met but at the same time feels her heart swell in her chest, she'd never known she was this popular.

"I should really go", she tells him, smiling as she starts out of the school gym.

"I'm going to fight to get you Quinn Fabray! You just watch! I'm going to have you love me, you can bet on it!" he shouts. This boy is such an annoying, obnoxious person and yet, she has managed to feel more electricity radiating from him in these five minutes, more that Finn has in the last five months. But she brushes the thought away; she will not fall for the boy, this 'modern day Casanova'. She rolls her eyes… at the same time however, she smiles.

That night, she tosses and she turns and finds that she cannot sleep. But it isn't Finn's medal that glistens in her mind, instead it's the bouquet of roses that perfumes her thoughts and prevents her from drifting away; Puck's annoying smirk compounding her state of sleeplessness.

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**A/N: Please review! by the way, this is If Only there Could be Us, just a different name! **


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

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To every coin there are two sides, as it is with every man

-Anonymous

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Ridiculously cold is the most appropriate term to describe the temperature which she is forced to whether. Quinn curls up in bed and puts her hands under her pillow, trying her best to draw out warmth from the soft thing, she isn't surprised however, when it turns out that even underneath the fluffy headrest, it is freezing.

She groans. She hates winter; it's always a downer for her, one that makes her day dull and dim and all shades of grey. Sighing, she pulls herself out of bed and gently places her feet on the floor wincing at the cold. Damn, how did she forget about the icy tiles that was the floor?

Groaning again, she lifts her legs up on the bed and swings her head down to look underneath it. Where are her slippers when she needs them?

Frannie.

She rolls her eyes; she hates it when her older sister takes them. Steeling herself and inhaling deeply, she swings her feet over the side of her bed and with slight hesitance, allow her bear, uncovered, unprotected feet to touch the floor. The cold is merciless and sends chills down her spine. She braves it and tosses the quilt off her form. She needs to get her slippers back before her feet turn into two giant ice cubes. And so she heads down the hall and straight into the room where her older sister is still deep in slumber.

Right, it's the Christmas Holidays and that's the reason why the other Fabray daughter has managed her way back into the household and the reason why she is lying on her bed and refusing to awaken. Quinn walks up beside her sister's bed pulls at the older girl who turns away and snores loudly in response. Quinn rolls her eyes again. This is really getting truly annoying.

"Wake up Fran! Where are my slippers?" her voice is hoarse as she shakes her sister and managers to awaken the other blonde who looks up at her, eyes half open and hair messy.

"What is wrong with you?" Frannie asks as she rubs at her eyes. "I just borrowed them, Snow feels cold", the older of the two blondes comment and Quinn whirls around in horror to witness her fluffy and she must admit, slightly childish Garfield slippers in her sister's hamster cage, the older girl's pearl white hamster curled up in the front of one of them. She turns back to her sister, eyes murderous.

"What on Earth is she doing in my slippers?"

"Shush!" her sister snaps, and jumps from her bed, rushing to the door and peering outside her room, making sure their parents are still sleeping. "She was cold!" Frannie whispers rather loudly when she turns to the other blonde. Quinn narrows her eyes as she heads for the hamster cage and gently coaxes the animal out of the orange slipper. Then she throws them to the floor and wears them, noticing that her feet feel that much more comfortable.

"What's with those slippers anyways? You don't even like Finn anymore. You'd much rather spend your time looking at half-naked pictures of that mohawk guy on Facebook. I mean what's up with that? You two aren't even friends and I thought you always said he was annoying?" Quinn's face is seriously beginning to colour.

"I don't like him!" she exclaims and immediately winces when her sister shushes her again. "We're just schoolmates is all", she says so softly she can barely hear herself.

"Hm", her sister says dismissively and flops down on her bed.

"What do you mean 'hm'?" questions Quinn her hands placed firmly on her hips for emphasis.

"What I mean little sister, is that I don't believe you", Frannie says matter-of-factly, sitting up again, eyeing Quinn with a smirk that only she, the great college student of Cambridge University, could pull off. Quinn rolls her eyes yet again.

"You're so frustrating! I don't like him; he's just a friend of Finn's. There's really nothing between us."

"It's really fine if you fancy him you know?" Quinn smiles slightly as she looks at her sister. 'Fancy', who uses words like that anyway? Apparently her UK-educated sister what with that strong British accent and words like 'fancy', she'd bet Frannie spells color with a 'u' too! "Aw you do like him", Frannie says gleefully in that strong English accent. Quinn can feel her cheeks reddening again.

"Urgh! I don't! Now go back to sleep!" she yells and throws a pillow at her sister who ducks it easily.

Quinn rushes out of the room as a means to prevent a full-on pillow riot and wonders, not for the first time, if her know-it-all sister is right.

* * *

She is bored near tears by the time it is four o'clock. And so, is it any wonder she finds herself at the nearby frozen lake, skates in hand, in a warm coat, breathing in the frigid air? No, it isn't because the worst thing you could do on a cold winter's day is lounge around the house doing nothing. She's doesn't know why, but doing that just fills her heart with nothing but a strong sense of dread.

Skates in hand, she walks briskly to the lake. This is one of the few things she loves about winter, the ice-skating. She adores it, how you can be so very graceful as you draw your skates over the ice and make a figure of eight, and at the same time, the possibility to be rough and rugged as you hit the hockey puck with that enormous amount of force. It amazes her, the flip sided of everything. She sits at the edge of the lake and puts on her skates and that is when she sees him. He is tall and strong as he glides towards her. She curses her luck silently.

Puck slides his skates gracefully over the ice in Quinns direction, his trademark smirk already in place. He doesn't say anything, instead, he just offers her a hand which she unwittingly takes. He leads her to the center of the lake and pull her arm gently over her head. She goes with it and before she knows it, she is dancing with this crazed football prayer whom she never knew had the gracefulness enough to lead her through this ballet.

The pair of them move in unison and then he throws her up into the air and she lands on her skates, as if on cue she spins and so does he. She smiles, this is truly surprising. She'd never thought that this boy, of all people, mastered the finer art of ice-skating.

"Ballet lessons", he tells her when her eyes question him and she laughs.

"No seriously, I had ballet lessons as a kid", he says and again she finds herself laughing. He approaches her, smiling and takes her hands in his as they glide through the lake. They go at it for two hours until both are tired and worn out and then they sit at the side of the lake for a break.

"We should do this again someday" Puck says and she shakes her head. "Come on it'll be really fun", he tells her and she smiles, her features reddening. They sit quietly for a moment and when Puck lowers his head such that it is tilted to face her, she doesn't back away from the kiss. What is more frightening is that she wants more.

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**A/N: Please review! Chapter 10 will be out soon! **


	10. Chapter 10

**Please review!**

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Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage  
-Lao Tzu

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If you asked Quinn what was going on, she wouldn't be able to answer you. Not because she doesn't want to but because she doesn't know the answer herself. She picks up the plane model that sits on her desk and fiddles with it for a moment. She has a whole collection of these thanks to one Finn Hudson, the boyfriend that had collected and pieced each and every model together for her.

She sighs softly and sinks into her chair. What just happened? She was ice-skating and the next thing she knew, she was in Puck's arms and kissing him. Kissing him. She closes her eyes at the thought, she hates that she did it. Quinn sighs. Puck did treat her well, he was polite, pleasant and gentle but then there is Finn, her perfect, patient, kind boyfriend. Quinn sighs again because she doesn't know what to do.

She must admit that there is a part of her that wants Finn, because she knows that he can be the perfect husband that she needs him to be, that he can be the good father to her children. But then there's the flip side. Every coin has a flip side and she hates that damn other side of everything. She doesn't like the safety. It's almost as if with Finn everything is going to be normal, everything is going to be perfect. She will have three perfect little children who will love studying, who will get straight As, who will be perfect and normal. Finn would be a banker or a teacher somewhere in Ohio and be that normal, perfect family man and when they turn sixty-two they will have five maybe six grandchildren and things will be normal; just normal.

Quinn sighs; she doesn't know why she doesn't want this normality. It's almost she wants to live on the wild side. And that is exactly where things will be heading with Puck. He is much different from his best friend. He looks volatile; like a damn volcano. He smokes, drinks, and has sex freely. She doesn't know why she is even pondering giving him a chance with her; and yet she is. He is a danger to her, she knows this but then when she thinks about it, there is a part of her that likes that uncertainty, that not knowing where the next meal is going to come from.

It's crazy, she knows but there is just some part of her that likes that he isn't your typical sixteen-year-old. She doesn't know what to do. She lifts herself from the chair and then a question pops into her head. _Who do you love?_ Immediately her answer is Puck and she hates that it is so. She sits on her chair, hand clutching onto locks of blonde hair. She hates that it is true she is interested in Puck. She hates this, she really does. But there is an undoubted attraction between her and the Mohawked young man. She squeezes her eyes shut and holds on tightly to the model plane her boyfriend has given her.

Her boyfriend, all perfect Finn Hudson. She doesn't want to hurt him, she loves him as much as he loves her, maybe more so but then there is a part of her that wants Puck. She isn't sure why but there's something about the danger that he is that makes her want more. She closes her eyes because she doesn't want to hurt that boy that has loves her even now when she is unlovable.

* * *

"This week's assignment, cheating", Mr. Shue's voice rings clear in her head and on instinct looks from herself to Puck to Finn and back at herself again.

"Mr. Shue could we have an example of said assignment, it's a little difficult to come up with a song which has cheating as its main component."

"Me and Mrs. Jones, 1972", Puck's looking at her and she cannot bear it. Is there a thing going on between her and Puck? Well, she certainly knows that it is wrong and that the feeling is much too strong and she doesn't want to continue with it but there is something in her that is just preventing her from being normal friends with the boy.

She shakes her head at him and decides that this has to end, that she is going back to her normal, perfect life, that she is going back to Finn Hudson that she is going to be faithful to and be the girl with the perfect life for the rest of it.

So when she meets Puck at the gym after school, she tells him that she cannot carry on with this, that she wants out, that she loves Finn and cannot bring herself to do anything that will hurt her boyfriend. And then when he kisses her, all that happens is that she melts into that damn puddle and cannot break away from his damn embrace.

She is hitting him, she is telling herself that this is wrong and that she has to pull away, but all the same she is kissing him and trying not to think about Finn Hudson and she wants more and she is kissing him more vigorously until everything melts away and all she is left to do is kiss the boy that is in her arms and begging her lips for entrance which she happily gives. She hates that she is this easy, that she just let herself fall into Puck's trap. She hates Noah Puckerman but more than anything else she hates herself.

She pulls away from his embrace and looks at him, her eyes searching his. She needs him to tell her that this is wrong, that they will stop this now; that they will not break Finn's heart that he loves his best friend enough to stop this but there is none of it. She is at the wrong place at the wrong time. It's her shear foolishness that brought her here really. So that night she guzzles down wine coolers at his house because she cannot stop thinking about Finn and the wrong that she is committing and when Puck kisses her, she allows herself to melt into his embrace, she allows her body to become one with his and when she awakes the next morning, she realizes that what has been done has sealed her fate.

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**A/N: Please review! **


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

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Betrayal is universal for people with no principles

-Anonymous

* * *

She peeks from beneath the blankets at her new found lover. Puck looks lovely when he sleeps. His eyes are shut and his breathing serene. She smiles a little even though back in her mind she knows that she has committed a terrible sin. She loves the way he looks. He is quite handsome, she notices this not for the first time as she stares into his features. He snores softly and shifts onto his sides. This is interesting to watch, she smiles a little.

Their love making was interesting; he had been very gentlemanly and had offered her many options. Whether she was comfortable with what he was doing was a big issue for him. He would look into her eyes and ask how she felt, if his pace was too fast or too slow for her. He was a great lover, going out of his way to please her and ensure that her desires were met. She blushes softly at the thought. This was her first time and it was… well pleasant. Painful when he had broken her barrier but enjoyable afterwards.

She considers this for a few heart beats. She has just had sex with Puck and then there was Finn, the man who loves the both of them with all his heart. Her heart aches a little as she thinks about the man who is still her boyfriend. She shuts her eyes as she feels Puck move and lazily place his hand over her abdomen. She stiffens slightly, wondering if he has awoken. He hasn't. She sighs softly and continues thinking about her boyfriend. How would he react when he found out? When, not if, because the truth was bound to come out somehow. There was no way they could hide it forever.

She shuts her eyes and breaths slowly. She was going to take this one step at a time and not rush things. But then, she couldn't help but feel that much nervous. With a soft touch she awakens her new found lover, nudging him gently on the shoulder. He moans softly before his eyes open and he gazes lovingly at her. Quinn stops breathing for a split second, her heart full at the thought that he loves her.

"What happens now?" he question weighs heavily between them and she senses he understands the severity of the situation. She has just betrayed her boyfriend, he has just betrayed his best one. They are both cheaters, fornicators, condemned. What are they supposed to do now?

He eyes her solemnly and hold the hand that rests on his chest. "We have to tell him", he finally says after a few moments of silence and stares deep into her eyes telling her that he was serious. She closes her eyes again and tries to shut everything out of her mind. This is big, what are they going to do when Finn finds out? Tell him it was okay? That they loved each other? That she loved him but not in that way? She isn't sure what she should do.

She swallows hard and looks at Puck. His features are stoic, hard to read. Just as well because she doesn't want to know what he is thinking. Did she actually love Puck, she finds herself contemplating this again. She decides that she did love him, more than she does Finn in a way that she has never experienced with the other football player. And so it is decided they would tell him. The night couldn't get any shorter and she couldn't get any more nervous.

* * *

Puck flips the cards on the table around and notices with disdain that the cards are low in value. He swallows hard and looks at the man who towers over him, a smirk place firmly on his features. Charlie was not a nice man. He didn't take too kindly to people who owed him money, he knows this but he has to get his money back. This is something he has to do because his family's next meal depends on it.

"I'll take another card", he says gruffly and receives one. He looks at it, the King of Hearts. That meant that he was winning. He now had a value of 20 which meant that the only possibility of Charlie winning was if the other man had double aces or 21 on the nose which of course was very unlikely. He looks up at Charlie his own smirk forming.

"I'll add another twenty dollars on that, you wanna top it?" he questions and Charlie smiles putting a hundred dollars on the table. Puck stares at him for a moment, his confidence slipping. He wasn't going to back down, not just yet. Charlie couldn't have a better score than he had, it is statistically unlikely, or at least he thinks it is. And so he matches the other man's bet and places some more money on the table.

Charlie's smirk widens and he places another fifty on the table waiting for Puck to do the same. Puck considers this for a brief moment. What is this going to do for him? If he wins that would mean that he is going home with a lot more money than he came here with and if he lost, well he doesn't want to think about that now. He looks up at Charlie and places another hundred dollars on the table.

"Reveal?" the man nods. Puck is only too please to show that he has a value of 20. Charlie places his own cards down two aces in his hand. Puck groans as he watches the man grab the dough greedily. It was going to be a long night.

"I'll borrow another five hundred from you", he states and Charlie passes him the money, all too happy to oblige.

* * *

They come to Glee Club particularly early today. They have agreed that they would tell Finn everything from the kiss at the pond to the love making two nights ago. Finn comes into the room more cheery than ever and the two teens glance at each other noticing this fact. It was as good a time as any, better even. Puck offers a hand to Quinn who hesitantly takes it. They ventures towards the taller man and look at him.

Their hand holding hasn't gone unnoticed as Finn glances down at their joined hands.

"What the hell? Dude? What is this?"

"We have something to tell you", Puck hears Quinn chime in from his side and he prays silently that he will not freak out when the news got to his ears. Quinn pulls at Finn's arm until they are in a corner, shielded from the ears of their fellow Glee Clubbers.

"I'm in love with Puck", Quinn whispers and Puck is as surprised at this as his best friend. Pleasantly surprised, he has never known that Quinn loves him. Certainly she was attracted to him but to love him? He doesn't know what this means.

Puck hadn't expected the punch that landed on his right cheek as the other boy towered over him. Wrestling him to the ground and hitting him on the face. He didn't want to fight back. This was Finn's right, it was right for Finn to react like this. Blows rain on his face for a few moments before Mr. Shue and Mike spring into action and pull them both apart.

"Is this true?!" Puck winces at the hurt and hostility in the other boy's voice.

"Yes", comes Quinn's teary reply. Finn nodds once, digesting the information.

"I'm done with you, I'm done with all of you!" he exclaims and rushes out of the room.

Puck watches him go and for the first time he regrets his actions.

* * *

Finn Hudson sat on the steps of McKinley. This school reeked. It sucked so bad. Quinn, he loves her. He pulls the photograph of them together from his pocket and stares at it. This is bad, he loves Quinn, more that anyone and she turned around and betrays him? He wasn't sure which of them he hated more. He closes his eyes as his tears threaten to fall.

He wasn't going to hold back anymore, and so he allows them to come, allows them to envelope his face and features and relishes in the tears that flow from his eyes. He looks around him, there are kids everywhere, couples are everywhere and he feels a pang in his heart. It's hard for him to do this any longer, he didn't want to lose Quinn because he loves her.

And yet, she was in love with Puck. He crushes the picture in his hand and aims at the bin ahead of it, throwing it with a single flick of his hand. It is bad enough that Quinn had betrayed him and Puck? This was just full of shit.

"AHHH!" he exclaims and fists his hair in his hands. This was more difficult for him than he had expected, no he hadn't expected this. This was just bullshit, why did they have to do this to him? And that dick, Puck, he had to come into his life and steal his girlfriend from him. He'd thought they were tight. He sighs softly as he feels his tears stain his face. This is wrong on so many levels he can't even believe it.

There is the sound of breaking glass in the distance and Finn looks up, alarmed. In the distance is Puck being chased by two men with baseball bats. He frowned.

"Good, maybe he slept with their girlfriends too", he stated rather coldly until he saw a shine. He stood up only to note that they were about to kill him.

* * *

Puck recognized the men that came for him. They were Charlie's men, they wanted the two thousand dollars he owed them and they way they were looking at him told him that they wanted the money now. He tries to hide behind people or in the bathroom but knows that these were too obvious and would get him caught before he even knew it.

He'd owed Charlie money before and it wasn't a nice experience. The man was a loon and hunted him down, giving him a beating of his life before they were so despicable as to kick his face. He winced at the thought. And then he sees them. Baseball bats never looked more dangerous.

They charge at him and swing the baseball bats at his head he dodges easily and his car's windshield gets smashed. He tried running some more. And that's when he sees it, the shining was something so frightening he almost wet himself. They have a knife, a big one. They want more than to just hit him, they want his life. They run after him and he runs even faster trying his best not to get hit by them. He turns around and waves at them, pleading for mercy but none is shown.

The man with the knife swings his arm in Puck's direction and catches his cheek, Puck doesn't feel the pain and charges at the man with full force, bumping him on the ground and wrestling him for the knife. The man kicks Puck away and he stumbles into the trash bins. He is done for, he watches as everything unfolds in slow motion. The man with the knife is coming toward him and then there is a voice.

"Hey! Stop it!" and Finn is with him wrestling the man to the ground and wrenching the knife from his hand. The blow that comes to Finn's head is harder that he had ever seen and Finn stays still for a while as the impact breaks the bat. He collapses onto the floor in a few heart beats and Puck scrambles and rushes to his best friend holding his hand tightly, and notices with slight relief that the two men have run away.

"Buddy look at me", he says and squeezes the other boy's hand softly. "Please, keep those eyes on my face, keep them here on me. Help! Somebody help! God help! Please!" Puck is crying now and is squeezing Finn's hand so tightly that the boy's knuckles turn white. Puck silently prays that he will awaken, that he will respond but there is nothing and then slowly, gently, Finn closes his eyes, disappearing from consciousness.

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**A/N: Gasps! What will happen to Finn?! Next we go back to you guessed it! THE PRESENT! to recap Puck wants to kill Beth! le gasp! catch it here soon! don't forget to review!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Present**

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Love's an excuse to get hurt

-Conor Oberst

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Puck steels his nerves, the night before he had been contemplating the fate of the one person he had ever truly cared about, he had an internal battle, reasoning with himself that she was but an innocent child caught in the middle of her parents' messy argument. But then every time he thought about mercy, he thought about what Quinn had said to him, the way she had hurt him and crushed his very spirit.

He closes his eyes at the thought as he pulls the wire tot in his hands. Making sure that it was tightly coiled around his hands. He would be swift, so that she wouldn't feel any of the pain, so that she would be dead before she realized that the one who ended her life was none other than the man who gave it to her. Sometimes Puck wishes there were another route, sometimes he wishes that he could let her live, grow old, but he quickly realizes that he can't.

He inhales deeply and then slowly, gently he approaches his seven year old until he is so close he can smell her. He sighs as softly as he can and closes his eyes for a moment, contemplating what is about to ensue. He is going to kill her, take her life, send her on her way. He lifts the cord over her head, preparing for the death of his daughter. But just as he is about to strangle her, she collapses onto the pavement, and then suddenly his world is ripped apart.

The selfish thoughts of killing her quickly dissipates as a father's instincts kick in and he is sober again. His eyes widen as he approaches her body. His first assumption is that she is dead and then the fear washes over his being and he is paralyzed for a moment. He stretches out his shaking hand and then places it over her nose. She is not breathing.

Puck begins to panic, his heart racing as he places his hand on her chest, searching for a heartbeat, it isn't there. He squeezes his eyes shut as he feels the wave of tears begin to flow down his face. He decides that it is time to pull himself back together and so he drags himself up and rushes her to his car and thinks quickly. He has seen it on TV before, people use car battery to shock others and save their lives. He is slightly jumpy but decides that if he is going to save his child, now is a better time than any.

So quickly, he rushes inside of his truck and takes the wire from the glove compartment. He attaches it to the car battery and pulls Beth's shirt up, exposing her chest. He takes a deep breath and places the wires on her chest and shocks her. He leans over her and listens for her breath, it isn't there and he does it again. This time there is an answer and she is breathing again. He heaves a sigh of relief and silently sends a pray of thanks up in the Heavens.

Quickly he places his baby into the passenger seat and rushes her to the hospital.

* * *

Puck sits outside the operating theatre, his confidence beginning to slip. Questions about his daughter's wellbeing crowd his mind as he tries to distract himself. He wonders if she is all right, if she is in any danger, if she is going to die. A muscle in his jaw clenches as he tries to calm his nerves. How could he actually even think about killing her? She is the apple of his eye, the only person he had ever truly cared about, she is his very life and yet death was what he wanted to give her.

He hits his head with his fists, trying his hardest to knock some sense into himself. How foolish he had been in thinking he could end all the troubles with killing his own flesh and blood. He sighs softly as his head rests in the nest that are his hands and he thinks about his child who is now fighting for her life in the operating theatre.

Quinn approaches her ex-husbands form and places a hand on his shoulder, he looks up at her, a guilty expression on his face.

"What happened?" she asks and he stares into her face. Her features are worried and he wonders if he should tell her the truth, he decides that he would. "Why did you take her from school without telling me? Did you know that I was worried sick?" she questions angrily and glares at him. He shies away from her line of sight.

"I… I wanted custody of Beth."

"So you were just going to take her? Noah, this is serious, she's my daughter too, I love her and you were just going to steal her from me?" she questions her hands now placed firmly on her hips. He shuts his eyes.

"I wanted to kill her", his response is soft, quiet and he can feel her gaze on his face. This is going to be a long day. A loud noise comes to his ears followed by a searing pain. It takes awhile for him to realize that Quinn has just slapped him. He looks at her, cupping his sore cheek in his hands. She pushes him and knocks him off the chair. He hadn't realized she was this strong.

"Get out of here, you don't deserve to be her father", she says quietly, her voice hoarse. "I'll call the police if you don't leave us alone", she tells him as her tears threaten to spill from her eyes. He looks away from her, a sudden guilt washing over his being. He wants, to hug her, tell her that everything is going to be okay, but he can't. He sighs softly and accedes to her request. He gets up from his position on the floor and leaves her, his dreams of a future with Quinn Fabray quickly dissipating.

* * *

She sits quietly rubbing her hands together in the dim light of the hospital waiting room. The doctors were still in the operating theatre with her daughter and images of a dead child filling her mind and thoughts. This was difficult to say the least. What had Puck been doing when he decided that killing their only child was the best way to go about this? She doesn't know and quickly decides that she will never know.

She sighs softly and pulls at her hair. This is more difficult than she had thought it would be. Her child was in a room full of doctors fighting for her very life. Quinn seriously wishes it were her in that room instead. She blinks away the tears that threaten to spill from her eyes. She never wanted anyone to hurt her baby and yet the person that wanted to hurt her was he own father.

She loses it and allows the tears to fall freely. She turns to see the doctor approaching her. She stands up quickly and heads for the dark-skinned woman who looks at her sympathetically.

"How's my daughter? Is she… is she dead?" she hears herself say and she winces. Why did she have to be so negative? Beth is a strong girl and she knows that the child would pull through all difficult situations. She closes her eyes and waits for the doctor's response.

"Mrs. Puckerman", Quinn hates that name. "I'm really sorry but your daughter suffered from heart arrhythmias. It's a form of heart disease which is what caused her fainting spell. I'm afraid she will need a new heart quickly", the doctor pauses for a moment. "I'm afraid if she doesn't have the transplant, she will die."

Quinn swallows hard, her mind quickly racing to Finn Hudson.

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**A/N: Review!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Lucky chapter 13**

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Fear is pain arising from the anticipation of evil

-Aristotle

* * *

Quinn inhales deeply of the flowers she held in her hands. She hasn't had contact with Carole Hudson-Hummel for many years; since the accident. She swallows hard and stares at the Hudson-Hummel door for a few heartbeats. She is unsure of this even though she wishes the feeling of dread would quickly pass her being. She is sure Carole doesn't want to see her but she knows that she has to be here.

A flood of memories pass into her mind like flashes of lightning as she recalls her history with Finn here years ago. She remembers the times they would sit on the swing in the corner of the porch arms around each other, lips murmuring sweet nothings as they rocked and dosed off in the quiet moments of moonshine. She remembers the chicken pot pies Carole used to cook every Friday and the fashion tips she got from one Kurt Hummel about her skirts or her yellow sweaters. She closes her eyes and sighs at the memories; it would be more difficult than she thought.

Slowly, gently she lifts her hand to the door and raps on it softly; her breath catches in her throat for a moment, at first she is afraid that there will be no answer and then she is afraid that there will be one because she doesn't know if she can face Carole after what happened to Finn. The door finally opens and Kurt's designer soul patch is the first thing she sees. It takes her a moment to recall their history as Glee club members all those years ago.

"Quinn," he says clearly surprised by her presence. There is no note of anger or hostility in his voice and she relaxes for a moment.

"Kurt! Who is it?" comes Carole's response. The two people exchange glances before Kurt stutters out an incoherent answer. Before either of them can react, Carole is at the door, eyes wide in surprise and then slowly, surely the hostility creeps onto her features.

"Get out", she finally articulates and Quinn shakes her head, trying her best to stomach the rejection. This is not what she has planned. She clutches her flowers in her hands and distantly feels the prick of the roses' thorns. And then she remembers the reason why she had ventured here despite the bad blood between her and the Hudson-Hummels.

"I need to see Finn", she insists and tries to push through the barricade which is Kurt and his step-mother. There is no such luck. Kurt allows her to pass but she is stopped dead in her tracts by a mother who is desperate to defend her child.

"You get off my property before I call the cops, you have no business here," she hisses and Quinn who swallows hard, tears springing to her eyes. She needs to save Beth, her daughter deserves a second chance, she wants to say but then Finn deserves a second chance too and he was not blessed with one. Quinn knows that she will need more than a few roses to get Carole to allow her to see Finn Hudson.

Her eyes search Carole's desperately as she seeks some form of reprieve, but Carole has steeled her gaze and refuses any form of peace. There will be no truce between them today, Quinn is sure of it. She hangs her head low as she tries not to let the tears fall from her eyes.

"I'm sorry," Quinn murmurs under her breath and feels the slap that comes to her cheek. She winces slightly and looks up at the older woman, Kurt's hand placed on his step-mother's shoulder, clearly trying to calm the raging woman.

"Get out," Carole breathes.

Quinn sighs softly, face now drenched with hot tears as she stumbles away from their house. She will be back again. Even though she knows she is hated, even though she knows that Finn may not be a perfect match for her daughter, even though the thought of impossibility fills her mind.

* * *

Carol walks up the stairs and gently opens the doors to her elder son's room. She knows it is silly but she wishes to see him sitting up in bed eating the food she has prepared for him, she wants to see his goofy smile and his eyes open even though she knows that it is impossibility.

She pushes the door open as gently as she can so as not to disturb him and inhales deeply because he is still lying down on his back, eyes shut, the tubes pushing glucose into his blood stream as his respirator pumps oxygen into the hole in his windpipe.

She sobs for a moment and allows her tears to fall freely down her face. She remembers the times when she used to say that he was noisy, that she didn't want his smelly, muddy boots all over the floor; she remembers how she used to chastise him over his drinking milk directly from the carton. She closes her eyes as the memories pass through her mind.

Seven years it's been. The doctors declared him brain dead and told her that the force from the bat killed his brain and its functions. She remembers what Kurt had told her about Quinn, Puck and Finn and the romantic feelings that harbored between the two formerly mentioned teens. She remembers the tight slap she gave each of them and the tears that sprang to her eyes as their heads hung low. She remembers how she hissed at them and told them to get out of her sight. She remembers the doctor's expression when he told her that he son was brain dead. She remembers all too painfully.

They told her that he would never awaken but she chose to think otherwise. This is her son, her baby, she would hold on to every bit of hope that he would one day open those large eyes of his and have one of his signature lopsided smiles in place but all she can do is hope.

* * *

Braiden Gift is sipping coffee in the office, looking through the morning's business highlights. The market share for Apple has gone up due to the new iPhone. He considers this for a moment, sometimes he wishes he were a different man with a different job. He has imagined himself in an office in the Apple headquarters creating new products and brainstorming different ideas that would be the future.

He loves his job but there were times that he made mistakes. He shakes his head. The commissioner was less than enthusiastic that they had failed to communicate with the hospital the fact that Noah Puckerman was released three days prior to his incarceration at the rehabilitation centre.

He sighs softly and recalls the woman's exact words _'Do you know what kind of threat he could to society? And you call yourselves detectives?'_ it had boiled his blood and thoroughly angered him but he did agree with the woman's anger. He never really liked her, she was an elderly woman, her eyes adorned with a pair of thick black glasses, her features always set in a harsh scowl but she was always right.

It had been their fault entirely. And now Puckerman was not in police custody. Braiden Gift puts down the newspaper and spins the pen on his desk. It stops spinning abruptly and when he looks up he is greeted by her. Mrs. Puckerman. Braiden stands and heaves a sigh of relief. She is all right; he had nightmares on what Noah Puckerman would have done to his family.

"Can we talk?" her voice is hostile at best but he nods and accedes to her request anyway.

They stalk down the halls of the station and finally settle on one of the benches along the corridor.

She is silent for a moment, clearly gathering her thoughts. She finally sighs and speaks "Puck wanted to kill Beth," Quinn whispers and Braiden Gift inhales deeply as he turns this information in his head. He'd never thought that that Puckerman was capable of hurting his own flesh and blood.

He discovers that there is another emotion that accompanies his anger and loathing for the mohawked man- guilt. If he and the captain were aware of Puckerman's whereabouts they could have stopped all of this from happening.

"Did he… did he do it?" he asks and immediately slaps himself mentally. Assuming that Puckerman had truly ended his own daughter's life, this would be an extremely insensitive method of asking if she was alive. He turns to her and is relieved to note that she doesn't seem at all offended by his question.

"No," her words are quiet, whispered. "He… he was going to strangle her, brought her out of Lima, to some deserted spot on the highway and tried to kill her," she pauses for a brief moment, clearly composing herself. "But when he was approaching, Beth fainted on the pavement. And by some bizarre miracle he panicked and sent her to the hospital. It was heart arrhythmias. She needs a new heart. If not… she will die."

The words weigh heavily between them and they do not say anything for a moment. She turns away from him, no doubt trying to hide the inevitable tears that have fallen.

"I'm sorry," he says pausing for a moment and then gently he pulls her from her bent over position on the bench and awkwardly cradles her in his arms. She stiffens for a moment, as does he but then relaxes after a while.

He decides that this feels strangely good, that he enjoys the her company. It's been years since he been in a woman's embrace and he misses it. She clutches closer to him and inhales deeply of his scent. This brings a strange peace to his being and he doesn't want to let go and by the looks of it, neither does she. So they sit like this for a few a moments.

"My friend, Finn Hudson he's brain dead, kept alive by an oxygen tank," she pauses for a moment "he's heart could be used to save Beth. It's a long shot, it might be too big for her but I'm going to go again tomorrow. As long as there's a chance I'll take it. I can't lose her" she whispers and they fall into silence again both measuring the situation.

"Will you come with me?" she asks after a while and he smiles softly, oddly pleased that she would ask for his company.

"I will."

* * *

**A/N: looking to get at least 35 reviews! please R and R! tell me how you like Braiden Gift! Ready, steady, review!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

* * *

To hurt is as human as to breathe

-J.K. Rowling

* * *

Kurt gently closes the door behind him and turns to his step-mother. Had he just witnessed Carole slap Quinn? He isn't sure because the actions seem so unlike sweet, innocent Carole. Kurt swallows hard and notices with slight curiosity that he is shaking. Could it be due to the aftermath of witnessing the slap? He doesn't know and isn't sure he wants to find out.

He swallows hard and approaches the living room. Carole has slumped down on the couch, her hands placed over her forehead, her eyes shut, her breath ragged. He understands that this is difficult for her; to see the woman who practically put your son into a coma. He understands. But then again, there is a tugging at his heart as it fills with pity for Q.

"Carole," he calls and watches as his step-mother turns to him and her eyes rest on his features. She looks exhausted and he wonders for a brief moment if seeing Quinn is truly the reason for her tiredness; he doubts it. "I know this is hard," he begins, careful to tread cautiously. "But there must be some reason why she decided to come here. She looked desperate; like she needed something," he pauses and inhales deeply, allowing her sometime to gather her thoughts. "Maybe we should hear her out."

"Kurt," she sounds surprisingly calm, tired, but calm. "I know where this is going. You're a sweet, sweet child but people just aren't that nice anymore. You know what she did to Finn," Kurt is certain the temperature of the room has just increased a few degrees as his step-mother moves from her slumped down position and sits upright, her features changing rapidly. "She took my son away from me! Quinn stole something from me, from the both of us! She can't… she can't just waltz back into our lives and expect us to welcome her into our lives again!" she is crying now and Kurt looks down at the floor, slightly embarrassed that he even suggested giving Quinn a chance.

"I'm sorry; I know this is hard…"

"Hard?" she scoffs. "It's impossible!"

"But," he continues, persistently. He doesn't know why but he feels the need to defend his fellow Glee Clubber. "What if she needs us? I know Quinn; she won't even hurt a fly. She's harmless. Give her a chance," he whispers the final part because even he cannot believe what he has just said. Why is he, the brother of the victim standing up for the woman who broke his brother's heart and indirectly caused his brain death?

"Then you never loved him the way I did!" she practically screams the last part and he doesn't know why but there is a soreness in his heart when he hears her words.

"Carole…"

"Just… just leave me alone Kurt. I can't… just... please," she places her hands on her head as if blocking away the pain. He nods at her and exhaling heavily, exists from the room. He will find Quinn and right the wrong between the two families; he swears it.

* * *

Dread is the only way to describe how Noah Puckerman is feeling now. He looks up at the officer that stands tall in front of him. There is something about the way the man is looking at him through that pair of thick, black glasses that just makes Puck feel so intimidated. Puck shakes his head as he stares at the floor which is getting increasingly interesting, he realizes this as he busies himself with tying his shoe laces.

It's his first time here, in all his years as a heroin addict; this is his first time in a rehab facility. Puck exhales slowly and allows his lungs to constrict just slightly just so he can feel that slight tingling, burning sensation and then he inhales deeply and allows them to be cooled by the chilly air of the waiting room. He looks to his left and then to his right and watches as the scenes of other people's lives play out in front of him.

There is a man to his right that has just been brought into the facility. He looks angry as the guards drag him pass Puck and push him onto the table. He cringes slightly when one of the guards presses the man's head into the table and growls into his ear. He understands the rules of the game; he's been to juvy on countless occasions. The guards are never as nice as they are put out to be on Lockdown. They just aren't.

The truth of the situation seems painfully glaring as he stares at the man who is now struggling against his restraints. This is horrible, because Puck can feel the guards' eyes on him. He wonders if he is next; if any form of humiliation awaits him. He turns away from the man and rubs his hands together as he is suddenly made aware of the room's low temperature.

A guard walks towards him and clamps his hand down on Puck's shoulder hard. There is nothing he likes more that fresh meat and Puck clearly fits that description. Puck looks up at the man and swallows hard. He remembers the time when Jordon Price and Braiden Gift came into the hospital he was in. It truly seems like a long time ago and yet he still feels the fear creep up on him every once and a while. It truly disturbed him to note the loath etched on both men's features. Puck turns and looks at the guard, forcing his eyes to meet the man's piercing blue orbs.

"Mister Puckerman," the man almost purrs. Puck can feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand. This man must have some sick motive up his sleeve and Puck doesn't want to be there to find out what lurks in this man's perverted mind. "You're next," he comes so near Puck can feel a distinct tingling on his back as the man whispers into his ear. Something just doesn't seem right.

The man signals Puck to stand up and that is what he does. Reluctantly, he follows the man into the room and prepares himself for the strip search. He enters the room and notices with increasing alarm that the other men he expected to see are conveniently missing. He turns around and that's when he notes that he is not the only one to strip today because in front of him, the guard has locked the door, his pants pooled on the floor around his ankles.

* * *

**A/N: LE GASP! PUCK! THAT PERVERTED GUARD! REVIEW! TELL ME HOW YOU WANT IT TO GO FROM HERE! AND IF THIS IS THE TWIST YOU EXPECTED?! DO YOU LIKE THIS TWIST? TELL ME! WHY AM I SHOUTING? I'M SO EXCITED TO HEAR FROM YOU GUYS THAT'S WHY!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

* * *

If music be the food of love, play on, give me excess of it; that surfeiting,  
he appetite may sicken, and so die

-William Shakespeare

* * *

An excerpt from Rachel's diary:-

I went to the hospital today. He looked better than I thought he would. His bruises were still apparent but the bleeding has stopped. I never thought something this terrible could happen to anyone, especially not Noah Puckerman. The guards that assaulted him have been taken into custody and will probably be tried for sodomy and assault. From what we understand one of the guards exposed himself to Noah and then while Noah was fighting him, another guard came and pinned him on the ground and they forced themselves through him. They found him curled up on the floor holding on to his cell phone… he was calling Quinn.

He's unconscious most of the time, never speaking more than two words when he awakens but I am certain he will get better, he's too strong to let something like this get him down. Even though I must admit that things aren't looking too good from what I see.

He cries whenever he is awake and pulled out the drip from his arm this morning. He is in great pain, it is obvious all I want is for him to be happy. I've already lost Finn, I can't lose Puck too.

I can never understand how it is possible for sex predators to roam the streets much less exist in the confines of a detention facility. They are nothing but sick men and should be ashamed for what they've done. I expect nothing less than a harsh prison sentence for them.

Quinn is as terrible as Carole made her out to be yesterday at dinner. At first I thought Carole was too harsh, what with describing her as the spawn of Satan. But I have never agreed with someone on something so much in my life. She is a horrible person, never coming to visit Noah. I understand that they are divorced but a visit won't hurt now would it? Someone that she loves, or used to love is in a hospital and she'd rather be gallivanting around with some random policeman.

Noah and I used to have a thing for each other in high school. Though I must say that I am ashamed it was a secret romance that blossomed while Quinn wasn't looking.

It didn't work out though.

He chose her and I chose Broadway; drawn to the stage and costumes. I auditioned for Les Miz after I graduated from NYADA, got the part of Eponine and never looked back. Now I'm here, back from a tour with the cast of Wicked, living in the spare room under the Hudson-Hummel roof. Nothing beats being with friends and family, even though my dad is away in Hawaii.

Thinking about it, how right it has been for me to play Eponine, love sick, rejected, alone. I never understood why anyone would prefer Cosette, all prim and proper and perfect; like Quinn Fabray. Even though I am fortunate and a little happy that for now at least, I have a better life then she does.

* * *

"Carole! Carole wait!" she screams so loudly, the neighbors begin to watch. There is nothing that sounds more heart-wrenching that the pleading of a mother. "Wait, please," she screams and rushes to the other woman and pulls her from the car she is trying to enter. "Just give me a chance to explain, my daughter," she takes out a picture of Beth and holds it out to Carole the best she can as the other woman struggles to break free. "She needs a heart, if not, she will die."

Carole pauses for a moment at the mention of the child and looks at Quinn, surprising the younger woman no doubt.

"Speak, you bitch," she says and looks Quinn square in the eyes. Unfazed Quinn begins with the speech she has prepared.

"My daughter, she has a heart condition. It could be fatal. She's so young, she deserves a second chance. You could help me, all I want…" Quinn pauses.

"What do you want? Do you need money, a hospital bed? What? What does it take for you to leave us in peace?" she questions as Quinn clearly notes the older woman's eyes turn red with fury. She swallows hard and whispers under her breath. "Speak up, how much do you need?"

"I need Finn's heart."

There is silence as Quinn jerks in surprise and insult as her would-be mother-in-law's spit dribbles down her face. Braiden Gift rushes to her side in an instant and puts a hand on her shoulder, questioning if he should take this case to the judge but Quinn shakes her head.

"Don't," she breathes.

"You want me to give up my child's life so that yours can live?" she snarls and Quinn nods embarrassment flushing her face as bright as the sun. "No… You took my son away from me, now God is punishing you because of what you've done!" with that, Carole walks toward her car only to be pulled back by Quinn Fabray. She doesn't show any reserve, just pushes Quinn onto the floor. Without a second glance, Carole drives away, leaving Quinn on the driveway, crushing her dreams in the process.

* * *

"What do we do now?" Braiden asks after a long moment of silence, as they sit in the car and stare out at the horizon. Why Braiden has brought her here, to be atop a cliff to witness the sunset does not escape her. She's been with men before, the way he looks at her, is the way Finn and Puck used to look at her when they were courting her.

She sighs softly and looks at him.

"Now, we wait," she says and looks out into the horizon. "Is there something you wish to tell me?" she asks and clenches her jaw. She knows the answer he will give her and a part of her wonders if she would like that answer.

"I think you're pretty amazing and a great mother. Puckerman should cherish you more," he pauses for a moment. "I know I would," he whispers and she looks at him again. She's been in this position before; twice and it has never felt this good. And so without thinking too much and before she can rethink about whether this is right or wrong, her lips are upon his. And kissing leads to hugging and hugging leads to him being atop her.

"I want you so bad," he whispers into her hair as he nips at her throats. Her phone rings and he jerks off her. She rushes to answer it and seeing that it's Puck who's just called her, she hangs up.

"Who was that?"

"Nobody," and then they resume their activities and that night, in a motel, under dim light, she gives herself up to the man who makes her feel like a woman again.

* * *

**A/N: Don't kill Braiden! Don't kill me! Review!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

* * *

"It is easier to forgive an enemy than to forgive a friend."  
**-**William Blake**  
**

* * *

He cries.

There is nothing in his eyes when he is awake. Nothing; they are so empty, so tired that most of the time; Rachel finds it difficult to look into them. She looks at him now as if he were a wounded child, she places her hand on his shoulder and he tenses at her touch. There is nothing more heart wrenching than seeing someone you love so broken.

Rachel sits at his bed side and places her hand on his cheek, moving it such that he is facing her. There are tears in his eyes at her touch and she doesn't know what to expect from here on out. Something about the way he refuses to look at her and the way he is refusing to relax and trust makes her feel so deflated. There are times when she wonders why bad things happen to good people but she never gets her answers.

"Is God punishing me?" he whispers after a long moment and she pauses for a while, unsure what to say. She places her hand on his shoulder and refuses to admit that what he has just said might be true.

"Why would He do that? Noah, God loves you the way you are. You did nothing wrong," she whispers the last words because she is guilty and feels like she may have been the reason why this is happening. Could their affair be what God is punishing Noah for?

"I wanted custody of her, she's my baby," he whispers, still averting his eyes from her face. "Quinn wouldn't let me have her, she wouldn't. I'm so sorry, I never wanted this to happen," he is inconsolable now and Rachel knows that now is not the right time to correct him. "I was angry with her and I… I was going to kill Beth; I was going to kill my baby."

Rachel sits stalk still, she isn't even breathing, this is news to her, she never knew what exactly lurked in her old friend's mind but to think that he actually considered taking the life of his own daughter, Rachel doesn't want to think that he is a bad father but she may be left with no choice. His eyes finally meet hers and she pauses for a moment, taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly.

"Well?"

"Well?" she asks in answer.

"Do you think I deserve this?"

"Of course not, Noah, nobody deserves what happened to you, this is wrong, so wrong, none of this should have happened." she tells him and tears pour from his eyes.

"She's sick and now I'm here, in the hospital and nothing is going right, I deserve this, I deserve every bit of this. I am nothing without Beth or Quinn," Rachel can feel a part of her die at his comment. He still loves Quinn, it is so apparent.

"I'm sorry, so sorry," she whispers and strokes his cheek gently with her hand.

"Stay the night?" he asks and she nods, there is no way she is going to leave Noah Puckerman ever again.

* * *

"Mummy?" Beth calls from the darkness of her hospital room. There is nothing sweeter than that name from her child's lips. Quinn lets go of Braiden Gift's hand and walks toward her child who is still hooked up to heart monitors and gives her a big hug. There is a part of her that feels guilty for what happened last night.

She feels guilty for being with somebody when her daughter needed her most. It is heart breaking to note that your own child is sick while you were fooling around. Quinn suddenly cannot bear to look into her child's eyes. They are so full of hope and courage that she is ashamed that she as a grown adult has less of these attributes than her seven year old.

"I love you, so much," she whispers into her child's hair.

Braiden places a hand on her shoulder and she shies away slightly. There is something in his touch that irks her. She doesn't want anything to do with him at this point and feels distantly guilty that this is happening. There is an expression of hurt on his features that she is forced to look away.

Her phone rings and she picks it up, Relieved that there should be something to distract her from all of this.

"Hello," she asks as she places her hand on her right ear to keep out the noise around her.

"Quinn, you finally decided to pick up? Where were you when he needed you?"

"Rachel? You're back? When? And who are you talking about?"

Quinn can hear Rachel's anger rising through the phone.

"Puck, you remember him? He is the man you married, the man who gave you your child, the man who yesterday was sodomized in the facility that you asked him to visit."

Quinn jerks back in surprise as Rachel's words sink in. Her mind is racing, sodomized? Hurt? She doesn't know what's up and what's down, her eyes are watery, her tears are stinging her, there is something in Rachel's words that are hurting her. Her mind is racing to the man that she has always loved.

"Quinn?"

"I've got to go," she tells Braiden.

"What's wrong?" she jerks away as his hand comes into contact with her hair. Suddenly everything about Braiden gives her shudders and she hates him all of a sudden. So many emotions are running through her mind and she doesn't know what to feel anymore.

"Don't touch me!" she exclaims and pulls away from Braiden and just like that she is gone, disappeared from the hospital.

Now there is no one she wants to see other than her Puck. He needs her and she is sorry that she ever let him go.

* * *

**A/N: here you go! :) well, i need to ask what you all would like to see from here on out! i plan to return to the past (7 years ago) in chapter 17. what do you think? anyways, enjoy and don't forget to review! and please tell me what you want to see next!**


	17. Chapter 17

**7 years ago**

* * *

A man who won't die for something is not fit to live.  
-Martin Luther King Jr.

* * *

There is a sickening strong smell of paint in the waiting room. Puck holds his head in his hands and tries to keep his faith. There is nothing like losing someone you love; and there most certainly is no feeling that sucks more than knowing that you caused it. Puck inhales deeply and watches as the nurses walk past him, he hopes they carry good news, that Finn feels better, that he has come to. But there is none of that; no one gives him the assurance he needs.

"What do you think will happen here on out?"

Her voice is shaky; uncertain and he doesn't know how to respond to her. There is something about the way that her hand is placed on his lap and trembling that he knows he is not capable of holding her together. He needs assurance himself and nothing is assuring at this point.

"I don't know," he whispers and fixates his eyes on the clock on the wall. He can only imagine what Carole will do when she finds them. They called her earlier today, she was frantic, obviously, he would be too, if he heard such a news about his own son or daughter. She had screamed at him, slammed the phone down on him. Every bit of him wanted to scream at her and tell her to go to Hell for being such a bitch, but he doesn't do that. After all, he is the one that caused all this hurt.

He closes his eyes and feels the moisture on his skin. Quinn is crying too. He squeezes her hand in response and she smiles sadly. At least he has Quinn. He doesn't say it aloud because he knows that their relationship has no right to exist. Just as the thought crosses him mind, Carole rushes through the door of the ER and immediately when her eyes meet his, she crosses over to her son's best friend.

The slap to his face come so swiftly he barely had enough time to react. They both stare at her through bitter tears and anger. He wants so much to return the favor but he understands that he's indirectly robbed her of something more precious to her than anything in the world. He doesn't slap her in return. Instead, he simply hangs his head down low and lets her berate him.

"How could you? He loved you like a brother and you let him take the blow? You filthy son of a bitch," she nearly screams out the last part. There is nothing like the grief of a parent and he hopes that he will never have to understand it.

Puck shuts his eyes tightly and tries to think about happy thoughts, but all he is able to think about is how he and Finn used to have each other's back on the field. And that is not a thought he wants to be acquainted with for now.

"I'm sorry," he hears Quinn's gentle voice and he turns to look at her.

"Are you two… an item?"

Puck is suddenly reminded of the smaller hand in his larger one. He can feel her squeeze his hand one last time before she lets go and nods her head.

A slap is bestowed upon her cheek. He watches, helpless as Carole weeps and beats at his chest.

"Return him to me, return him to me," she weeps and pleads him to return what he has stolen from her. He cannot bear it and allows his tears to fall freely from his eyes. How he wishes that he could turn back the clock and return to a time long ago when they were eight and used to play with X-men figurines.

He never wanted any of this to happen and yet it did. He deserves to be in there, he deserves to be unconscious but he isn't. Why do bad things happen to good people? Finn was shielding him from the attack despite his confession that he and Quinn were together. Why did such a good person have to suffer such a fate?

"Excuse me, are you the family of Finn Hudson?" they look at the doctor who has a sober expression on his face.

"I'm his mother," Carole responds through tears and hurt.

"Mr. Hudson received a big blow to his head. We tried all we could. There's really nothing we can do. I'm sorry."

"What… what do you mean?"

"Finn, he's brain dead," he answers. Puck can almost hear her heart break. "He will probably never regain consciousness; the blow to his head was very severe. I'm really sorry. This may not be a good time but have you ever considered organ donation? His organs could be used to save many people."

Her jaw is set firm and she shakes her head. The doctor nods and excuses himself. _What an ass_, Puck thinks until he realizes that he is the one that deserves that description.

"How are you going to return to me what I've lost?" she questions as she grieves. He doesn't have an answer. All he can do is hope that everything will be okay.

* * *

There is something strange about marijuana smoke, that she can't quite but he finger on it. She stirs and looks at Puck who has assumed his position on the floor, sipping vodka and smoking marijuana. He does it to ease his pain.

Neither of them has gotten over the incident. They try to visit Finn when they can but is always asked to leave by Kurt who obviously isn't the one that wants them gone. The accident changed their lives and they wished it hadn't happened though it's too late now.

"Puck, come back to bed," she whispers and reaches for him. He doesn't pay much attention and takes another puff of the drug and another swig of alcohol. Sometimes she wonders why she chose this drug addict over Finn who was the perfect example of a real man. He was kind, patient, loving and ever so magnanimous.

She can feel her eyes tearing and she bites back her need to cry.

Maybe it's her damn hormones. She's been very late this month and she is certain she's pregnant. Though she hopes she isn't.

She takes another look at Puck and wishes that he can be the father her baby deserves.

xxx

* * *

**A/N: hey there! welcome back to the past! so we'll be talking about the past for the next few chapters. don't worry, well be heading back to the present in no time! btw, thank you for all my 575 reviews. you have been awesome! especially you katie :)**


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

* * *

Everything in life is a choice, and every choice comes with a consequence.  
Think before you choose your consequence

-Hussein Nishah

* * *

"I'm pregnant," she whispers and can feel the tears gathering in her eyes. Was it the hormones? Or was it her being hopelessly depressed over what's happened over the past few weeks? Whatever it is, she is certain that they aren't tears of joy. Puck looks at her, his eyes set on hers, his gasp ever so apparent.

"That's… great!" he finally manages and she scoffs. Great? Does he even know what kind of a shit hole they're headed for? No, he doesn't because he is the immature brat that always thinks the world revolves around him. "I mean, she'll be perfect." She doesn't know how he knows that the child is female; she doesn't even want to know what it is.

"We're not keeping it," she says, her voice poisonous. There is something in her that is frightening, she hates the baby, hates the plight that they are in now. "I'm going to the doctor's tomorrow and we're going to get it removed. We can't afford to have her. We're broke, we can't afford it we can't…" she trails off and squats on the ground, pulling her hair and weeping like there was no tomorrow.

Puck is by her side in an instant and holding her, comforting her because he knows that it is difficult news for her. She's pregnant, they're broke, they've just lost their best friend; how can they afford any of this? He doesn't know because he loves her and that's all that needs to be said. He wants this baby, and cannot allow her to go through with abortion.

"We are keeping it," he insists as he stares into her features, his eyes fixed on hers, his breath ragged. "Please, this is our only chance for a normal life. We need her, she is ours; our beautiful, perfect little thing," he tells her and she shakes her head. His heart sinks when he sees the sorrow and worse, the regret in her eyes. "Quinn, we need to keep her, she's all we have now. Please…"

"We're more broken then before. Our lives are a mess. How do you expect me to say yes to bringing another, more innocent life into ours?" she questions, her eyes watery, her breathing catching. Puck searches her eyes desperately for some form of reprieve but there is none. She seems resolute to abortion.

"Please," he breathed and watched as her eyes of steel soften and her head droop down. And then, slowly, softly, she nods her head and is engulfed in a warm hug from Puck. "Thank you. I swear I will be a great father; I will stop gambling, taking drugs, drinking and all of that. I never let her cry, I swear." He said as his held his right hand up and gazes at Quinn Fabray who sighs softly. She is still unsure of whether this is real; if he really has the intention of holding their little family together. She rubs her womb thoughtfully as he stares at her lovingly and places his hand on hers.

"I swear. You have my word," he whispers and she nods again.

* * *

Puck sat on the bar room stool, sipping his beer. There's just nothing like cold beer during the heat of summer. He knows he has promised his Quinn that he will never drink again but what is a little alcohol when you are so happy. And he is happy; happy that she is willing to give him a chance and give birth to their daughter.

He'd even gotten her name picked out. 'Beth,' he loves that name simply because he loves Kiss. And that is why he chose that name for his baby girl. He is certain it is a girl even though Quinn seems skeptical. He sighs softly as he takes a swig of beer even though he is well underage. He allows the beer to linger at the back of his throat for a moment and then swallows.

He nearly spits out his drink when a hand is placed on his shoulder.

"Hey," he hears a soft noise from his left and he turns to see Rachel Berry on the stool next to him. He smiles softly and turns to face her. She smiles back and places a hand on his shoulder.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were all about being good?" he questions and she laughs softly.

"I've grown Noah, you should try it sometime," she replies and places a hand on his shoulder.

"Are you flirting with me?"

"Maybe," she answers and winks at him. What was wrong with her? He suspects she's drunk. Either way, there's nothing like being a woman's center of attraction. And so he buys her a drink, she drinks it, they both get drunk and long story short, they end up naked in a motel room.

* * *

An excerpt from Rachel Berry's Diary

There is nothing like losing the one you love. My Dad, Hiram… is gone. Just saying it makes me sick to my stomach. He left me, broken beyond repair. The cancer claimed him a week ago. I'm only telling you what happened today because I couldn't bear to write the past week. We were going through funeral arrangements and the like.

My other Dad, Leroy is absolutely devastated and cannot come to the terms with the fact that the only man he had ever loved is dead. Death is such a cruel thing. There is really nothing like losing someone you love. The pain doubled when Kurt called me yesterday afternoon. I was watching some reruns of Friends, in a desperate attempt to recover from the pain and when Kurt told me that Finn was brain dead, all I could do was cry again and again and again.

Finn and I were never together but I had loved him once when I was younger. But he never knew. I kinda regret I never told him now that he will truly never know. And then I looked out at the window and I saw a crow. I hate ravens and I will always hate them. There is something in the way they squawk that makes me cringe. To me they are a sign of misfortune and if my superstitions are accurate, which they probably are, then this is a bad sign. Is something terrible going to happen to me again? I don't know and refuse to find out because I don't think my heart can take any more of the pain.

So to cope, I'm headed down to the pub, I've got my fake driver's license and everything necessary. And then I will get wasted and then I will feel better because I will be numb.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

* * *

Don't marry the person you think you can live with; marry only the individual

you think you can't live without.  
-James C. Dobson

* * *

"Will you marry me?" he asks as he holds out the ring in his hand and kneels before the most important woman in his life. She smiles; how he loves it when she smiles, and blinks a few times. She places her hand on his shoulder and he almost melts into a puddle. "You will be the perfect wife. I know it's not a real diamond but when I get my next pay check, I will get you one."

"You work as a short order cook in a coffee shop, you don't have that kind of money," she says smiling, and this time he really does melt into a puddle, well not literally. "This is fine, I like it," she tells him and places the ring on her finger. A smirk forms on his lips as he looks at her, his body language bleeding self-pride. "You gonna get up? People are staring at us," she says and gestures to the other people in the café. He chuckles softly and gets up on his chair.

"I love you," he tells her and places his hand on hers.

"I love you too," she whispers loudly enough for only him to hear.

Music to his ears is the only way to describe those words.

"I promise to be a great husband, a good father and an awesome granddad," he jokes and she laughs a little, toying with her engagement ring. This feels right, oh so right, she likes this feeling, like it was meant to be. "What?" he asks when he sees her laughing.

"You really think far don't you?"

"That's 'cause I know how our marriage with work out. And I know how much I love you."

* * *

She wakes up to his soft snoring. She doesn't remember much about last time even though she would like to. Puck is her biggest crush, well besides Finn that is and all she can think about is how strange it is with his in her arms. He shifts slightly and she snuggles deeper into his arms. Rachel is in a very good place right now. And she loves it. She loves Puck even though he has Quinn and she has her future to look forward to.

It was painful, well, when she first felt him enter her. But then the pain ebbed away and she was filled with pleasure. She smiles softly at the hazy memory and touches her hand to his face as gently as she can. He finally awakens.

"Rachel? Where am I?" he asks as he rubs his temples and looks around the room. There is something amiss here. He was supposed to be with Quinn, where was his girlfriend and what on earth was Rachel Berry doing in his bed? He serious hopes it isn't what he thinks it is. Could it be that they had sex last night? He doesn't want to think about that now, now when he has a ring in his left trouser pocket fit for only one Quinn Fabray.

"We… we did it," she whispers and he freezes. Did it? Did she mean it as in _it_? He really doesn't want to know. "Don't you remember?"

"Rachel, you're an awesome friend and we're both Jews, you know I'd do anything for you but… not this, I can't. I… I love Quinn. She's pregnant, this wasn't supposed to happen. I'm sorry." His words come out all broken up and awkward but she understands his all the same. To him, this was a mistake and he probably never wanted it to happen.

"I was a mistake…" it isn't a question because she knows that what she's just said is the unspeakable truth. "You had no right…" she sobs and he places a hand on her shoulder. "I'm not just a toy you can use once and then throw away. Did you know how much I loved you? And now you tell me that I'm a mistake?"

Puck looks at her, his tears threatening to spill. He would murder any bastard who dared to hurt his daughter like how he's hurting Rachel and indeed, he is a bastard for making her feel like a lousy slut.

"I'm sorry. It wasn't supposed to be this way. We're not meant for each other. I love Quinn, we can't do this anymore. I'm sorry, I really am Rachel but you know I can't let her go." He pulls his pants up and places his shirt on his body quickly and heads for the door. "For what it's worth," he whispers as he pauses at the exit. "I had fun last night." And then he is gone.

* * *

"So have you decided what you want to name her?" he asks Quinn as he brushes his hand on her womb lovingly.

"I'm not so sure it's a she you know… maybe it'll be a football player like his dad?"

"Or a Cheerio like her mum," he tells her and she smiles at him. Now this is pure bliss. He was a one-woman-man, no matter what others said. Rachel was just a mistake, nothing but a friend, a mistaken identity in the heat of the moment.

Quinn, Quinn was different. She was his future wife, his lover, the most important woman of his life. He closes his eyes and cups her chin, kissing her as gently as possible. She kisses him back and then slowly they pulls back.

"You know, I think you have beautiful eyes Quinn Fabray," he tells her and she smiles and even laughs softly.

"Or so I've been told," she says as she gets comfortable in his arms and he relaxes his chin on the top of her head. Now this is where it's at, this is what was always meant to be. He sighs softly and places his hand full on her womb. He can almost feel his little girl kicking. And he loves it, the beauty of this whole situation. Internally, she swears that he will indeed be an awesome father.

* * *

**A/N: so I'm under the impression that you guys want some love between Quinn and Puck so here you go. all the fluff you need! well, i need to know if you all are still reading this, because it would be nice to know that out there, somewhere, there are still people who care about this story. so drop me a review, or if you're really shy, drop me a pm, either way is fine. i would love to hear from you. the next chapter, Puck and Quinn get married. so yay! and more fluff next chappie there'll be fluff until their relationship sours and they divorce. we all know that that is gonna be interesting. so please review! **


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

* * *

I had not realized that someone could break

your heart twice, along the very same fault lines

-Jodi Picoult

* * *

When she is born, she is the most beautiful thing in the world. Puck wipes the sweat from his brow as he witnesses his girlfriend push for the last time and the baby's head pop out from her. Being in the operating theatre when your screaming girlfriend is giving birth is no easy task. Puck realizes this as he wipes the moisture from his face.

It isn't sweat; he notices this as he brushes his hand over his eyes that now are wet as rain. They've done it; they've managed to bring another human being into the world. Puck watches in shear agony and joy (how it was possible to feel both simultaneously, he is unsure) as the doctor snips the umbilical cord and allows the nurse to clean the child.

He isn't sure why but the sight of the baby gives him chills and he likes how that feels. His Beth, his perfect bundle now resides in her mother's arms as she stares up at Quinn and maybe, just maybe, smiles a little. Puck sighs softly, he wishes that time could stop now, in this perfect moment, oh how he wishes. He places a hand on Quinn's shoulder and she looks up at him, smiling ever so sweetly.

"We did it," she breathes and he nods at her. They did it; they really did. He reaches down and touches his hand to the child's cheek. She is beautiful, her eyes exactly like her mother's and those lips so similar to his own. He must've been so carried away because he forgets that Mercedes is also there.

The girl smacks him on the arms and somehow manages to shift him away from the two most important people in his life. Mercedes looks at Quinn and Beth; her eyes quickly softening as she puts a hand on the child's face and caress her cheek. Apparently no one can keep their hands off of Beth's face. Puck looks up at his future mother-in-law and smiles. To his surprise she smiles back. He must be in for winning the lottery because the last time he checked she practically hated him. He nods at her curtly and allows his gaze to linger on Quinn features again.

Judy, recognizing Puck and Quinn's desires to be left alone, signals her daughter's friend to 'fall back' and then Mercedes, Judy and the hospital staff disappear behind the curtains and away from the little family.

"I love you so much right now, I can't even…" he trails off and smiles at Quinn who smiles back.

"Would you like to hold her?" she asks as she looks at her future husband. He smiles in return and a little nervously, nods, as he holds his hands out and beckons Quinn to pass him his baby.

He is shaky at first but tries his best to keep still and then there is that perfect moment where she's in his arms and she is not crying and he is happy. There is something about carrying one's baby for the first time that is so perfect, so precious he is certain that even Shakespeare cannot word it out properly. Her eyes are shut as he marvels at this little being in his arms.

Her breathing is so shallow, her face so red, her lips so pink that already he is crazy about her. He takes one last glance at his child and then allows Quinn to carry her again. And at that moment, he is certain that life doesn't get any better than that.

* * *

Puck reclines on the chair in his would-be mother-in-law's home, left hand carrying his baby daughter, his right traces soothing circles on her back. It's only been three months since Quinn had her and already he and his daughter were inseparable. He lift's his hand from the child's back and places a finger on his lips. Quinn, seeing that her boyfriend and daughter are in such a comfortable position, decides that it is time to join in this little family get together.

So with such nimbleness, she sits next to Puck and touches a finger to her baby's chubby cheek. Three months on and the little family cannot be any happier than they are now. Puck places his right hand on Quinn's and is pleased to note the smile on her face.

"I'll bring her upstairs," he whispers and she nods. Then slowly, gently, he carries his child upstairs to the little nursery that is her room. Quinn follows him and watches as he places his baby into her cot and turns on the air conditioning. Puck finds himself incredibly grateful that his family was so fortunate to have each other. He walks towards Quinn gifts her lips with a kiss. He allows his lips to linger on hers for a moment before they part.

He finds her smiling up at him and he smiles back.

"What?" he whispers.

"You're really good with her." she finally states and he chuckles softly. He is indeed very good with his daughter, if he does say so himself. Fatherhood seemed like a very nice place to be in now that he's gotten the hang of being a teenage dad.

"I love you," he says softly and she smiles up at him, kissing him softly and places her arms around his neck. He smiles at her and breaks away gently and then kisses her forehead.

This is a dream come true and indeed there is no place he'd rather be.

* * *

2 years later

Their wedding is Christian because Quinn wants it that way. Puck stands at the altar, his smile wavering, his brows furrowing. This is the day that finally, he and his longtime girlfriend get married and he is in a very good place right now. If only he could stop shaking. Nervous is an understatement is admits to himself as he waits patiently for Quinn to walk through those large doors.

His best man, Mike places on his hand on Puck's shoulder and pats him, telling him that everything is going to be all right. He nods at the other man and wishes, not the first time that his best man was Finn Hudson. He dies a little inside when the thought comes to his mind again. He was the cause of Finn's accident and he doesn't think he can forgive himself.

He straightens his posture, inhales deeply and forces the thoughts about Finn from his mind. He watches in great nervousness and awe as his Quinn walks through the doors with Mr. Shue. He knows that she is beautiful but he didn't think that she would be _this _beautiful. She's smiling, boy how he loves it when she smiles. And then she is next to him and they are saying their vows and they are kissing and they are married.

He doesn't know why he never paid attention to the minister but instead spent his time watching Quinn as she stood next to him and continued smiling. The thought that she was happy to be married to him was so bright and he found himself smiling like an idiot.

It doesn't bother him though because he is in a great place.

Their reception is simple with guests from their high school and glee club members singing.

And then before he knows it, Marley's finished singing and its Rachel's turn to sing. She'd just returned to Ohio from New York yesterday for their wedding. Seeing how great Rachel was with Quinn put him at ease at first but then she talked to him about how much she still loved him, about how she still wanted to be with him and he just left her.

Guilty as he is, he cannot bring himself to leave Quinn for Rachel. He tenses up as she takes the microphone from Marley's hands. She sings Come What May and he almost leaves the room in guilt.

But then Quinn in on his arm and he finds himself smiling at her and he swears there and then that he will love her forever, and never hurt her.

* * *

**A/N: There you go! A nice fluffy chapter except for the last part, I do apologize that I had to make Rachel look like some kind of a psycho. No offence to you Rachel fans. In case you're wondering, the reason why I'm able to write so much lately is because of the school vacation I have now. When school reopens I don't think I'll have as much time to write so much. **

**But I still hope you will remain faithful to this story and continue to read and review even if my chapter updates are far apart. Please! I really am afriad I will lose readers once school reopens, hopefully my worries are unfounded. **


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

* * *

I loved you and yet you let me go

* * *

It began innocently enough. At first it was just extra movie tickets popping out of nowhere. She had assumed that they were those he accumulated over time; tickets that he got from bringing her on movie dates and maybe occasionally outings with Mike or Artie. But then things got more curious. She was beginning to find lipstick marks on his clothing, the red ever so offensive. And then there were gifts, boxers she didn't buy.

And then one day she found it.

It was a bra, in Puck's truck. It was there even though she tried to convince herself that it wasn't. And then there were phone calls, 'sexy' text messages from women she hadn't even met or heard of. She did her research and found them on Facebook. They were working women. And when she thought about it, she realised that her husband and her had suddenly stopped having cash flow problems.

Puck had written off her curious questions, saying that he had extra tips cleaning pools for 'good Christian families' or that he had taken a second job. Quinn thought about this for a moment. The man wasn't lying. She believed he had taken a second job. As what was what she was concerned about.

She thought about her marriage for a moment. It was a great marriage, he was a good husband, never hit her, never hurt her. And what was even better was that he was an even better father. He was so good with Beth there were times that the two were so close she felt she should look away. There were times she even felt jealous at the fact that their little girl seemed to love her father more.

Two years is the amount of time that has elapsed since she and Noah got married and everything was going on smoothly. But then there were the extra tickets, the lipstick marks, the extra money… so many things pointed to the same thing; he was a gigolo, or at least that was what she thought he was.

She closes her eyes at the thought. This is more painful that she thought it would be.

* * *

"Puck, we need to talk." She says one night when they are laying on their bed, his arm around her waist his lips pressed against her neck.

"About what?"

"Us," she says and untangles herself from his embrace. "Are you a gigolo?" she asks directly and he winces at her question. No he wasn't a gigolo. He was a social escort.

"They call us social escorts." He tells and she visibly breathes a sigh of relief. So he wasn't having sex for money but then what were those sexy messages doing on his phone and why was he getting extra movie tickets?

"Then why do you have these?" she asks as she pulls his phone from the night stand and scrolls to said messages. "Who are they from?" she questions her tone hurt.

"I…" figuring out that there is nothing more he can do about this he decides to come clean. "They're from Santana and some of my clients," he admits.

Quinn nods at him and sighs softly. Turning on her side and drifting off to sleep.

* * *

There was nothing much on TV that day, Puck realises as he flips through the channels of the television. He hates Sundays, they were annoying, and there was never anything nice to watch. So he settles for some old ass Simpsons episodes. He sighs softly and looks out of the window. It's raining, it is raining damn it and he hates it.

And then there she is, in all her glory. He is stunned for a moment but then she approaches him and passes him the letter.

'Puckerman vs Puckerman,' he reads and looks up at his wife.

"You're leaving me?" He questions and she nods, why is she doing this? Why does she want to leave him? He ponders this for a moment and remembers the nights he spent with Santana, how great it felt to be in the arms of his former girlfriend. He thought about Rachel and how she was in his bed once upon a time. And guilt fills his being. "Quinn, please, I can explain," he tries but she turns away from him. She doens't want to hear any of his excuses. All she wants is to be left alone.

And so with a quick step and a heart of stone she lifts her daughter from her cot and heads for the door. He is up immediately and refusing to let her through. She is persistent and tries to push pass him.

"Puck, you were asking for this, you are the one who cheated." She says in a broken voice and he closes his eyes. He doesn't want this to happened, he wants everything to be okay and yet it isn't.

"Please, I can explain," he says quietly even though he can't.

And then he thought about their baby. Beth was in the middle of this all.

"What about Beth?"

"I will take custody of her," Quinn explains and Puck shakes his head. He won't let her.

"You can't! She's mine too!" he exclaimes but she doesn't listen, instead she pushed pass him and out of the motel room, crushing his dreams in the process.

* * *

**A/N: Please review! i do apologize for any grammtical mistakes. my grammar is not perfect. forgive me. as always review!**


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

* * *

Here's to you Finn Hudson, here's to you

* * *

Puck wanders into the night club, his senses keen, his eyes focused. This is something new to him. He'd only gotten drunk a few times. One time he'd lost a bet he had with Finn and had to down a monster amount of beer. He smiles fondly at the memories. Finn had been so tickled at the pickup lines Puck used on the girls at the barbeque party after, that night. The smile becomes a more sober expression as he thinks about the shit he'd put Finn through.

He ventures deeper into the night club and watches with pure anxiety and exhilaration as people kiss and drink and smoke. It is entertaining really to watch something of this kind of spectacle. He sits at the bar stool and asks for a beer. The bartender looks at him for a moment and asks for some ID. Puck rolls his eyes and pulls out the fake one he had made earlier. _Ben Ramington, 1 August 1988 _it reads and the bartender nods at him and places the beer on the coaster in front of Puck.

Puck sips on his beer and enjoys the way it courses down his throat and cools his body. This is good. At least he can be doing something other than thinking about Quinn and the divorce. He downs the last bit of beer and asks for another. And then when he moves to pay the bartender, a large hand comes down and smacks a $20 bill in front of him.

"Chief," the bartender says and nods at the man. Puck turns and looks up at Chief, his gaze curious.

"I'll take care of it boy," the man says to Puck and Puck obviously tells Chief to be his guest. "You having some troubles boy?" the man asks and Puck nods his eyes odd and strange. Is this man for real? Did he really care about what was going through his mind? Or was he just trying to pull a quick one on Puck? Maybe he was hitting on him for all he knows. Well, Puck certainly wasn't gay, he likes his women hot, though he's so broke he'd do almost anything for money.

"I'm getting a divorce," he tells Chief who smiles knowingly at the boy.

"Ah, lady troubles? A fine young man like yourself? You know what? I like to give you something I call hospitality. This here is my place and I'm king. Boy, come here," he says and brings Puck to a back room. Puck is afraid at first, even though he won't admit it. But he genuinely feels scared. He follows the man to the back room and when they enter, there are junkies all over the place.

Puck swallows hard. What is this place? Where is he?

"Look dude, I don't do drugs," he begins but is silenced by the man.

"Kid, it'll take away all you troubles, all you have to do is," the man said and pointed at his arm, flexing his thumb to illustrate how quick a process it is. Puck nods even though he doesn't really like where this is going. "It's all it takes, I'll give it to you for free too, I know a guy like you would appreciate it. H does wonders, before you know it, you're on cloud 9," he says and summons one of his men. "Tony, fix this young man up with some H will ya?" he says and pats Puck on the shoulder.

Chief watches as Puck hesitantly takes the drug in his hand, pulls the strap with his teeth and then pushes the needle into his vein. He watches as the look on Pucks face reflects pure euphoria. At the moment, Puck loses it. It is the best feeling ever, and it is perfect.

* * *

Puck stares at the night sky through the attic roof. He feels like shit, like literally. He thinks about the night's activities. A young man, alone at a bar is not a good combination. Puck shakes his head to clear his mind. This is tougher than all his hangovers put together. It feels horrible. He groans and turns over on the couch and nearly falls.

_H does wonders_,_ before you know it, you'll be on cloud 9._ Puck remembers the words of the old man at the night club. What was his name again? Chief, that's it, Chief. He pulls hard on his Mohawk and struggles to keep his mind on straight. This is really tough and he hates it. Puck feels strange, so sleepy and yet he can't explain why. He'd had a goodnight's rest last night. And today he is feels so lethargic. Puck coughs. His arms felt heavy and his legs too and then he realizes that it must be the drugs taking effect on him.

He lies on his bed and waits for the feeling to leave him but it doesn't he simply falls into slumber. In his dreams he sees Quinn; she is on a swing in the middle of the playground right across from where he stays. Pushing her is a man, tall, almost as tall as Finn, his features gentle, his eyes large. Puck doesn't like the look on the man's face and especially despises the way he's looking at Quinn. Puck sighs softly. And then there is a girl, he assumes that it's Beth because of the way her hair is braided into a fish tail braid or whatever Quinn likes to call it and the girl calls the man 'Daddy'. Puck nearly runs and punches the man.

And then he hears that familiar voice. "Puck," he turns around to see Finn Hudson, his best friend, arms outstretched, lips curled up in a small smile. Puck nearly chokes. "Wanna ride my new bike?" he asks and this time Puck does choke on the tears that have gathered at the back of his throat. He remembers the day Finn took him out for a spin on his new bike and he dies a little at the memory. "I think you'll like it," he tells Puck and Puck follows him.

There on the horizon is a bike, blue, with red streaks all through. Finn offers him a helmet which he takes and then they are riding, into the horizon. And all Puck knows is that he's betrayed the man who loved him more than he'd ever loved himself and that all he should do now, is live the life he has for Finn if not for himself.

* * *

**A/N: So i'm not getting much feedback from you guys, please review! Please! i've been updating regularly now haven't i? and i need to know that there are still some of you out there that are reading this, because if there aren't then there's really no point in me writing anymore. so please if you're out there and still reading this, just leave me a review or a PM. concrit is appreciated. please and thank you. and yes the man pushing the swing was Braiden. And this is set two years after the wedding.**


	23. Chapter 23

**Present**

* * *

Second chances do come by after all

* * *

Quinn finds herself in the hospital. She looks around her and notices that there are nurses and doctors all around, and distantly she wonders if the reason why they are rushing from place to place is because they are trying to save a life. She ventures deeper into the hospital and finds herself in front of the front desk.

"Noah Puckerman," she says softly.

"Room 902, it's down the hall and to the left," the woman states and Quinn nods, this would be more difficult than she thought. Seeing Puck and Rachel would be more difficult than she thought. So with a heavy heart she walks into the room and pauses for a moment. Rachel looks up at her and she stills for several heartbeats. Walking closer to the other woman she smiles softly.

"Hey," she whispers and Puck looks up at her. He's lips curling into the slightest smiles. "I heard what happened, I'm so sorry." She whispers and places a hand on her ex-husband's arm. "I'm just so, so, sorry, I never wanted this to happen to anyone. I thought everything would be okay and then Beth has a heart problem and now this…" she says and begins to cry.

Puck stands up from where he's sited and wraps his arms around her. Whatever he'd gone through with the guard and the difficulty of getting over whatever happened has been worth it because now the woman he loves is in his arms.

"It's not your fault," he breathes and kisses her cheek. He loves her so much it hurts. "I love you," he finally says and she swallows, realizing how much she has wanted to hear those words from his lips. "I'm really sorry about what happened with Beth. I never wanted to hurt her, I wasn't thinking properly. All I wanted was to take her," he says and she sighs. She wasn't a perfect mother either. She'd gone and slept with Braiden in that little motel room despite her daughter's condition.

"I love you too," she says and he smiles. How badly has he wanted to hear her say that? "We both made mistakes, but I never wanted anyone to get hurt either. Now let's just concentrate on getting you better so we can both be with Beth when she needs us most," she says and he pulls away from her.

"What's wrong with her?" he asks, finally remembering her fainting spell on that fateful day.

"She has a heart condition. I… didn't know what to do accept ask Carole for Finn's heart," she explains and he looks at her. How could they ask the woman for Finn's heart? How was it possible? They couldn't, wouldn't do it, it wasn't right.

"We can't, besides she's too small for it," he tells her and she shakes her head. They were not going to pass up an opportunity this great. She shakes her head and looks him square in the eye. She knows that it isn't right, that they couldn't just go to the woman and demand for the heart of someone who sacrificed his life for theirs, they couldn't. But then to let their daughter go was too much to bear. They couldn't do that either.

"I need that heart, it's too good an opportunity to miss out on," she explains. "I will be going to Carole's later, I need that heart, I can't, I won't see Beth die," she tells her ex-husband and he shakes his head. He would go with her, he had to. Despite the physical trauma he is going through he needs to know that there is still hope for his little girl, it isn't right, but it needs to be done.

"Rachel, please get the doctors. I need to be out of here as soon as possible."

"But you… you're still unwell," she tells him but he shakes his head. They didn't have time for this. "I won't let you," she says. And he shakes his head again.

"I have to be strong for my daughter, despite everything I need to know that she will be okay," he says finally and calls for the nurse. He is discharged an hour later, and although the memories of the incident lurk in his mind, he needs to be a good father, something he hasn't been for far too long.

* * *

Kurt meets them at the McDonald's across the street. There is nothing more he wants than for Beth to be okay. He knows what it's like to lose someone you love; he'd lost Finn but that was so many years ago and he needs to know that he has done all he can for Beth to survive.

"Carole won't let you see him," he tells them because he knows the woman so well. "But I will talk to her, I need her to know how much it hurts to lose someone you love. And believe me, it hurts," he tells them because he needs them to understand how much it hurt when Carole lost Finn.

Quinn smiles at Kurt and nods at the man. She will try any means necessary, even if it means wrestling Carole to the ground, she will do it. She sighs softly and sends a silent pray up to the Heavens, wishing that everything will be okay; that there will be hope for her precious daughter.

"Thanks Kurt," she tells him and hugs him. Puck pats the man on the shoulder and silently thanks him for what will happen.

They arrive to the Hudson-Hummel house later and approach Carole. She is still fuming over her previous encounter with Quinn but has finally allowed Kurt to convince her to settle down and listen to what has to be said to her.

"Carole," Quinn begins. And the woman glares at her. "Ms Hudson-Hummel," she tries again and the woman nods approvingly. "Finn, he's been gone for the longest time. He would want this if he knew what was going on with Beth," she tells the woman and Carole sighs softly. She pities the child who now lies in the hospital but all she can think about is the hurt they brought Finn and how much she hates them for it. It would take more than convincing to make her decide that she would let Finn die for their daughter.

"Please," Quinn breathes and Carole shakes her head.

"You want me to give up my son's life so that your daughter can live," she states and Quinn, embarrassed at her selfishness nods. "I will take more than talk to convince me that you deserve this. I cannot forget what you owe my son," she tells them. "I loved him, and you took him away from me," Carole says and Puck moves to kneel before her. He would do anything to make her forgive them and give them Finn's heart for Beth.

"Carole, Finn would want this. Let him live life through Beth," Kurt says to her and she sighs softly. No, she wouldn't let them have it. She wouldn't.

* * *

**A/N: So, this is the second last chapter. before you read the next chapter, note that miracles do happen and sometimes things happen which we cannot explain. read and review!**


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

* * *

Second chances make things all the more valuble

-Anonymous

* * *

He comes to her in her dreams. At first she thinks that he isn't really there, that it is the trick of the wind or her eyes playing tricks on her. But as she stares at the boy there is no mistake that it is indeed Finn Hudson, albeit a smaller, younger version. The boy, wearing his blue Thomas the Tank Engine sweater smiles at her and takes her hand in his. She remembers that sweater; she'd gotten it for him when he was merely five and just learning the magic behind talking trains and the Shining Time Station.

"Mummy, I want you to see something," he says and squeezes her hand. She smiles at her son and squeezes his in return. And then they are in a hospital, in Beth's room, the child lying in the corner, her eyes shut, and her breathing shallow.

Her heart breaks at the sight. "She's sick," he tells her and she nods. She's fully aware of this; that the little girl is so ill, she is near death. "I brought you here, so you could see how much she needs this, that it isn't just you who needs my heart," he explains and Carole sighs.

The girl looks horrible, she is so pale, and her breathing so labored it almost breaks Carole's heart to note the pain the girl was enduring.

"What will happen if I don't give it to her?" she asks and the boy smiles at her sadly. "What will happen if I don't give her your heart?" she questions again because she needs to know that she won't be the death of the child. "Will she die?"

"Yes, she will and it will be painful. The doctors will try their hardest to save her, but there won't be any hope, she will slip into a coma, and will never return. Days later, she will be dead." He tells her and she nods absently. "I need you to know that that body is merely an empty shell and doesn't need to be kept alive," he tells her and she shakes her head. What if they gave Quinn his heart then kill any chance of him ever waking up? She needs to know that there is completely no chance of him awakening if she were to give in to this plan.

"I will never wake up," he tells her as if sensing her trepidation. "I will forever be in the position I am in now. Let me live, give me a chance to continue with life," he says and she looks at him. She understand what he wants, he wants to live life through the eyes of Beth and is asking her to let go. "Please, I need you to know that this is what I really want." He tells her and she nods. If that is what Finn wants then that is what is going to happen.

She relents; she would give his heart to Beth, because she wants him to continue living through her.

* * *

"How is everything?" Braiden asks and she smiles at him softly. They were at the hospital again, this time the doctor's were checking if Finn's heart was suitable for Beth. "Everything is okay," she tells him and he nods. She was thrilled that Carole finally relented and allowed for Finn's heart to be checked if it was suitable for Beth. It's a long shot, but then there's still hope that Finn's heart is suitable.

The doctor comes out of the operating theatre and Quinn, Puck, Carole, Kurt, Braiden and Rachel rush to the man. "It's a perfect match," he tells them and they release the breath they they'd all be holding.

Quinn wraps her arms around Puck and buries her face into his chest. She doesn't know however, then when this happens, the police officer stares at them and tries to come to terms with the fact that he's lost the woman he loves.

"Is this seat taken?" she asks and he looks up at her. Rachel. Smiling he beckons her to sit beside him.

* * *

Beth

10 years later

Some people don't believe in second chances, some people don't believe that life can take you through ups and downs and end with happiness. But I believe in life. Because that is what Finn Hudson gave to me. She doesn't talk to me much and I seldom see her but I know how happy she is to note that her son's life continues to live through me.

My parents remarried each other two years after the operation. They now live together in Lima Ohio with me, my sister and our pet cat, Mimi. Braiden and Rachel fly back to Ohio every six months to be sure that I'm fine with everything. They got married too, and although I think they are still in love with my parents, they have come to terms with the fact that life has to move on. Daddy managed to kick his drug habit after time in a rehab centre.

I look at the four adults as they talk over dinner. We're at Breadstix now, having our Christmas meal. They are happy and so am I.

"Sissy!" she exclaims and I look down at her. She always eats messy and quite frankly it can be exhausting. I lean down and wipe my sister's lips with a napkin. I wonder if I were still three, would I still be eating like how she eats now.

"Hey no fair!" Daniel Gift exclaims and hits his brother on the head. I roll my eyes, will these two ever stop being at each other's throats? I wonder.

"No fighting!" I say in a stern voice and they both stick out their tongues at me. I couldn't care less.

"Whatever!" I tell them and they laugh, soon after, I find myself smiling. This is the life that was always meant to be; the life that we always wanted. This is life; I realize. The definition of life between our two families is mapped out with smiles and laughter and messy tables and Christmas dinners. This is all we've ever wanted. And I got to enjoy this life all because Finn Hudson let me.

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**A/N: So that's the end of it. please read and review. special thanks to Katie (aka Aria-Skye-November-22-2012), my dearest pen pal, Ellii51, Gleeme33, SalvatoreGirl, RAGML, JustaLittleWallflower, Quickgirl75, Olacindy, Yan Ming, loueylouey14 and all the many others who read this story! thank you for all your precious reviews and attention these pass months. I thank you also for the taste of success I got from writing this story. It made this story special and remarkably awesome to write. I hope you have come to love this story as much as I have writing it. on another, sadder note, I won't be writing on this account anymore; from now on, this account is 'dead'. Fairwell and thank you for this amazing journey.**


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